ManchuWOK repositioned its spring roll as 'the original pre-roll' for 4/20

The Canadian Chinese-cuisine fast food chain wanted to be part of the 4/20 conversation and surprise its fans and munchies enthusiasts.

Only on April 20, the 'original pre-roll' was distributed for free in downtown Toronto in a custom box borrowing design cues from pre-roll packaging, supported by stories, reels and in-feed posts on ManchuWOK's social channels.

The fourth consecutive year of 4/20 content kept ManchuWOK, in its marketing director's words, 'top-of-mind by continuing to stay top-of-feed'; no performance numbers were disclosed.

ManchuWOK, a Canadian fast food chain specialising in Chinese cuisine, has made 4/20 a yearly creative occasion — over four years the brand has produced custom memes and delivery billboards for the date. For 2023, agency LG2 found the pun hiding in the menu: the spring roll is ManchuWOK's original pre-roll, and the restaurant is the original pre-roll dispensary.

Only on April 20, the 'original pre-roll' was exclusively distributed for free in downtown Toronto, packed in a custom box that borrows design cues from pre-roll packaging. The stunt was supported by stories, reels and in-feed posts on the brand's social channels.

'This year, we couldn't pass up an opportunity to remind our fans that ManchuWOK has a pre-roll of our own,' said Lucy Todish, senior director of marketing at ManchuWOK. LG2 creative director Jeff Cheung framed it as the brand's always-on social approach: fun, timely, relevant content that keeps the brand top-of-mind by staying top-of-feed.

The pun does all the work: spring roll to pre-roll is one word, instantly legible to the 4/20 audience.

One-day scarcity made a free spring roll feel like a drop, not a giveaway.

Packaging borrowed from pre-roll design made the joke physical and postable, not just a caption.

Borrowed occasions work when you own a pun: relabel one product feature in the audience's own slang and a staple becomes a shareable joke.

As of 2023-04-20 the stunt had run its single day in downtown Toronto with social support continuing on ManchuWOK's channels.