- 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.
And he came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them.
Mark 1:31 KJV
- 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.