British American Tobacco was experiencing massive loss of profit and ongoing retrenchments at their factories due to the illegal cigarette trade which has become rife in South Africa.
We were asked to shed light on the dark underbelly of crime and unhygienic factory conditions associated with cheap illegal cigarettes. We wanted to drive awareness about how buying illegal cigarettes contributes to organized crime and a deficit in tax money 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 people 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 resulted in our shocking reveal: the illegal cigarettes you buy are just as bad, and make you a criminal.