Tobacco Documents Online

w...~. - w~- • I ~ i'L'11iiI-V,ai I Ir~..~O~P S_RowTr 1~ ~4ZLLI~AhSSOIv 'rn.,uCCO coa noa.ATM 1,A~TCiV' R. TR~IitAht l~erio~ekr~~ia l,ral,r February 23, 1909 TThe Honorable Th,omas A'. 7yi Chairman~,, Subcommittee on, T~ransportat~i~on,. To.u'ri'sm, and Hasardoua Materials U.'B. House oz' Aepresentatiwes. Committee on,iner9y and Commerce Room 2125, Rayburn House Office suildi'ng Washington,i D.C. 20515 Dea r Chairman I+uken',: This ls tsr wi1~1 sa'rve a., proarn, 8, Williamson Tobacco. Corporation's ("Brown & Williamson") response to your January 2'6 request for' i'nformation Concerninq product placements in motion pictu'risr showni in the Ua~it.6 States siince January i, 1!79'. Prior to Janu'ary, 1984, Brown & Williamson made arrar,qements, to have i'ts tobacco soducts used or di'splayed in motion pi'~eturr f ilms ahown ~nitha United 6tates. Product placements w.re twidespsead practioe throughout many d'Yfferqnt consumer product's end servic.s' indu'st'riea. Thee product placement company with wbich, ®towniL' Williamaon d!eailt,..as to use its "beet e!lorts• to place Brown e w.illi'amson"s1 products. Ho+oever,, the film producer had the soila discretion and madr the ultimate: decision about whether to use a' p rti'cular product in, a f!.'lm'. Brown &'. Williamson did not S'ind' motion pictur+e product placam~ants to be an etfec ive medium. tt teumi'nated the uae of product plaoements and 'all p.r er~# contracts and! relationships pestaininqi tc~ prodvl~placements' in January, 1'9'i4. Since JtnuarY,. 1984, Brown & Williamson has not (1) paid, directly' or indireetly through any third party, for the ure, display or other placement of its products or of advertising . material'si loir its products in any' motion p1Ctuire shoWn in the United dtates, or C2)! d''irected, or authorized any product pTacameot onits b.half on, any basis wlh'atsoever.

5ch7 9Y: ; 2-26-86 ~' 14:38 : SRibWNa %71i1',3AM60W, JUSAr:c.ca 1 CoAPOILATtoh OOGCOGOOQOOGGOOJO~x 3. Furthermore, Brown i Wi!lliamsoni has had no interest in product placemente aince it terminated ita product pl!acement arrangiements in January, 1904, and has no pTans or ilnt.n~tiona tochanQeitw po~li'cyconcerni~nBnnoti'on picturst product placements in, the future., It would b. o:tremelyr difficult if not impoaaible to create an accurate list of all the niamea of psctures in which Brown, & Williamson products may have been used as requeated'i'n your letter. Due to thie fact that the f'ilm producer ultimately decid~.d whether to use a product in a fi'lm, the information, in B'rown, & wLl!Siamaon's lilea ia sufficiently incomplate as to, require, the thorough and detai:lad viewing of several motion pictures to •ee whether a product placer:ent actually occurred. Brown & williamson, does not believe that there was any situation in which a movie~ script was altered to, include a smoking scene for Brown & WYlliamson products or In vehich, Brown! & Wi1Tia7naon had the right to or d'id restrict~ the taovie producer'a abililty" to ed'it acenes showing th~e, Browm 8~ atilliamaori, product placement. We do not besieve that attemptinq to reconstruct the details of Brown & Aliiliamsomi°a product placement arrangements is warranted, particularly in light of the tate of our r.cordes and icr,portantlX the fact that we discontinved' product placements over, five years ago and do, not intend to~ change our, ppolicy. We are pleased to have been of aaaiatance to the eubcocr.mittes on Transportation, Tourism., and Ilaaardoua Materials and belli.ve that thia!approach to reeaonable and should be vS'ewed as satisf'actory under the circuneatances.. Viry truly roursn BAQW & MsbLrANaoN ' ToBACcO coRPOliATLON, ~ ~,, .J' .,` ~•~ ~s~7~. 8arton H« Freedman d&nior Counses - ldark.tinqi& Sales ,s: ~;