# Project SCUM > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Project_SCUM > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Project_SCUM.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_SCUM > Source revision: 1282080809 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Tobacco industry marketing plan This article is about the RJR Tobacco project. For other projects called "scum", see [Scum (disambiguation)](/source/Scum_(disambiguation)). "Project Sourdough" redirects here. For other projects called "sourdough", see [Sourdough (disambiguation)](/source/Sourdough_(disambiguation)). **Project SCUM** was a plan proposed in 1995 by [R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company](/source/R._J._Reynolds_Tobacco_Company) (RJR) to sell cigarettes to members of the "[alternative lifestyle](/source/Alternative_lifestyle)" areas of San Francisco, in particular the large number of [gay](/source/Gay) people in the [Castro](/source/The_Castro) and homeless people in the [Tenderloin](/source/Tenderloin%2C_San_Francisco%2C_California). 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**.[1] ## Project An anti-smoking campaign called [Truth](/source/TheTruth.com) targeted R. J. Reynolds for Project SCUM, arguing that it not only showed the usual exploitative tobacco marketing techniques but added to them an explicit contempt or even hatred for the people it was trying to market its products to. *[SF Weekly](/source/SF_Weekly)* reported: "This is a hate crime, plain and simple," said [Kathleen DeBold](/source/Kathleen_DeBold), director of the Washington, D.C.–based [Mautner Project](/source/Mautner_Project) for Lesbians With Cancer. "What else do you call it when a group thinks of gays and lesbians as 'scum', and then targets us with something that kills?" San Francisco Supervisor Chris Daly, who represents the Tenderloin District, is equally upset. "It's racist, it's classist, it's oppressive. And it is really disheartening to hear. But I can't say that I am surprised. Low-income communities and people of color have always been derided and taken advantage of. Obviously, the tobacco companies feel like they can make money off other people's misery."[2] Project SCUM documents came to light after a court order forced R. J. Reynolds to hand them over during the State of California's litigation against tobacco companies. R. J. Reynolds's marketing in the 1990s of its Camel and Winston cigarette brands drew the attention of attorneys representing California cities and counties. Project SCUM highlighted how tobacco companies in the 1990s were targeting young adults to be lifetime smokers.[3] Revelations about Project SCUM were among the mountains of evidence ensuring that anti-tobacco litigation would continue. In 1998, a resolution of the litigation came about in the [Master Settlement Agreement](/source/Tobacco_Master_Settlement_Agreement) between more than 40 state attorneys general and the tobacco industry. ## See also - [American Legacy Foundation](/source/American_Legacy_Foundation) - [Operation Berkshire](/source/Operation_Berkshire) - ["Truth" ad campaign](/source/TheTruth.com) - [Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement](/source/Tobacco_Master_Settlement_Agreement) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Anne Landman, [Anne Landman's Collection: Project Scum](https://web.archive.org/web/20030525040449/http://tobaccodocuments.org/landman/518021121.html), original Project Scum document images with analysis, Tobacco Documents Online. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["San Francisco – News – Smoking Gun"](https://web.archive.org/web/20150704001925/http://www.sfweekly.com/2001-05-02/news/smoking-gun/). Archived from [the original](http://www.sfweekly.com/2001-05-02/news/smoking-gun/) on 2015-07-04. Retrieved 2008-04-03. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-attorney_3-0)** [Multi-State Tobacco Litigation - www.lieffcabraser.com](http://www.lieffcabraser.com/Case-Center/Multi-State-Tobacco-Suits-and-Master-Settlement.shtml) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20160108150133/http://www.lieffcabraser.com/Case-Center/Multi-State-Tobacco-Suits-and-Master-Settlement.shtml) January 8, 2016, at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine) ## External links - ["Tobacco company's internal document detailing Project SCUM"](https://web.archive.org/web/20140727225312/http://tobaccodocuments.org/landman/518021121.html). Anne Landman's Collection. Archived from [the original](http://tobaccodocuments.org/landman/518021121.html) on July 27, 2014. - [American Legacy Foundation's statement on Project SCUM](https://web.archive.org/web/20080509125601/http://www.americanlegacy.org/2114.aspx) - [Gay and Lesbian Medical Association's statement on Project SCUM](http://www.glma.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Feature.showFeature&CategoryID=5&FeatureID=112) v t e Reynolds American Subsidiaries and brands RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company Barclay Camel Capri Dakota Doral Eclipse Kent Lucky Strike More Newport Old Gold Pall Mall Tareyton True Vantage Viceroy Vila Rica Reynolds Vapor Vuse American Snuff Grizzly Kodiak Levi Garrett Santa Fe Natural Natural American Spirit Predecessors Batus Inc. Brown & Williamson Former subsidiaries SeaLand Related topics British American Tobacco Project SCUM Reynolds Building Richard Joshua Reynolds RJR Plaza Building --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Project SCUM](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_SCUM) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_SCUM?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.