- RJR’s “Project SCUM” Targeted Gays, the Homeless, Immigrants and Youth
“Project SCUM” was R.J. Reynolds’ plan to increase sales of Camel cigarettes in the San Francisco area by marketing them to gay people in the Castro district, “rebellious, Generation X” -ers, people of “international influence” and “street people,” by introducing Camel cigarettes into less-traditional retail outlets like “head shops.” SCUM was an acronym that stood for “Sub-Culture Urban Marketing.” RJR’s rationale for the project was a higher incidence of smoking and drug use in these subcultures.
- Atari 2600: Pitfall (Internet Archive)
Pitfall! is a video game released by Activision for the Atari 2600 in 1982. It is the second best-selling game made for the Atari 2600 (after Pac-Man), with over 4 million copies sold.
- Project SCUM (Wikipedia)
Project SCUM was a plan proposed in 1995 by R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (RJR) to sell cigarettes to members of the “alternative lifestyle” areas of San Francisco, in particular the large number of gay people in the Castro and homeless people in the Tenderloin. The acronym “SCUM” officially stood for “subculture urban marketing”. Perhaps recognizing the offensive nature of its label, the marketing plan was later renamed Project Sourdough.