British American Tobacco wanted to shed light on the rife illegal cigarette trade in South Africa to show consumers
the dark underbelly of crime and unhygienic factory conditions behind their cheap cigarette. We wanted to drive awareness around the fact that your choice of cigarette contributes to organized crime and a deficit in tax money collected from legal cigarette companies, which ultimately affects access to housing, healthcare and schooling.
The challenge we faced were the restrictions around cigarette advertising in South Africa. One is not allowed to show cigarettes or smoking them. We decided to use this to our advantage and make it the twist of our film by shooting from the point of view of an illegal cigarrette. And because of the nefarious nature of the scenes, we lead people to believe only things like drugs or weapons belonged in those places, which lead to our shocking reveal.
