If you feel like you've read a similar headline to this one before, it's probably because you have. I hate to break it to the Chicago Girl Scouts that set up shop outside a recreational marijuana dispensary last weekend, but they did not invent this commercial tactic. Little girls in both California and Colorado have pulled off this real-life equivalent of a targeted advertisement in the past, but that doesn't detract from how genius of a marketing move it is.
The latest batch of enterprising Girl Scouts capitalized on Illinois' recent legalization of marijuana, which went into effect on January 1. According to Block Club Chicago, the patrons passing through Andersonville's Dispensary33 on Sunday (Feb. 9) were delighted to see a group of six and seven-year-olds distributing Thin Mints outside. “The cookies they’re selling and our clientele, it’s a great match,” said Abigail Watkins, the dispensary's marketing and outreach manager. “As a former Girl Scout, I admire the hustle.”
Watkins detailed that she has received requests from so many Girl Scout troops to provide munchie supplies to her customers that the dispensary will allow a different troop to use the location every weekend for the rest of February. If you're wondering whether last Sunday's mission was a success, it was. They sold 230 boxes over four hours.