Deposition of RJR tobacco CEO Andrew Schindler (2000) part 1

#SchindlersDepo #bigtobacco #tobaccomastersettlementagreement #rjreynolds #lies #moneypowergreed #InjuriousPersonalities #mississippideposition

Ezell Thomas, et al., plaintiffs, V. R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, et al.

Sorry for the video quality. I hope you guys find it illuminating, regardless.

The Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement of 1998 held that tobacco companies were not to advertise their products, and must donate billions of dollars every year toward state-funded campaigns to reduce youth exposure to cigarettes. RJ Reynolds was sued in 2000 for violating the TMSA. At the conclusion of the case in 2002, they were fined $15M for handing out free cigarettes at events attended by children, and a measly $20M for running tobacco ads targeted to children in defiance of the TMSA.

RJR CEO Andrew Schindler appears here as a well-spoken, but evasive, witness. The Barry Pepper lookalike seems perpetually baffled by plaintiff’s attorney Rick Forman’s questions. Around the hour and ten minute mark, Schindler stiffens up at the suggestion that RJR conducted racially prejudiced research to come up with a cigarette to appeal to "downscale blacks".

Time stamps listed below for scandalous items:

35:10 "Uptown controversy"

55:20 "the menthol phenomenon"

1:00:23 in 1968 RJR teamed up with ad agency Dancer Fitzgerald Sample Inc. to conduct racially charged market research

1:05:30
Q: Are you aware of any documents of RJ Reynolds that would suggest that they rejected this approach, or reprimanded the agency for recommending this approach?
Q: Do you agree that the approach recommended in this letter is reprehensible?

1:08:20 In 1975, RJR marketing rep sent a memo to Dancer Fitzgerald Sample, seeking guidance on "how to reach 'the street Black" / "downscale Black" through advertising.
Q: Do you know if during the 1975 timeframe RJ Reynolds had a marketing program designed to reach the "downscale Black"?
A: I have no idea.

1:09:15
Followup: Do you consider it an appropriate marketing strategy for RJ Reynolds to make special marketing efforts to reach "the downscale Black"?
A: [Schindler rambles on about nothing]

1:13:20 Campaign to introduce a specific cigarette brand targeted towards "the inner city Black"

1:20:35
Q: Did the Uptown cigarette have the highest tar and nicotine of any cigarette that Reynolds marketed—realizing Uptown was never marketed as such, but was that the proposal?

1:24:56 Exhibit reflects that cigarettes are the most brand-loyal category in the US market.

1:27:48
Q: Exhibit further reflects that "any brand that appeals to adult smokers ages 18-24 establishes a preemptive brand loyalty." Do you agree with that?
A: I don't know. What does that mean?