Tobacco industry corporate and promotional VHS tapes are an unusual category of archival material. They were produced for internal sales purposes, retail promotions, and consumer outreach — not for broadcast and not for preservation. The format documented a specific moment in tobacco marketing: the shift toward “premium” positioning and authenticity messaging in the late 1980s and early 1990s, as the industry faced increasing regulatory pressure. A farmer with a DeKalb cap standing in his own field was a deliberate counter to the synthetic glamour of earlier cigarette advertising.
No digital version of this tape has been found online. The Select Tobaccos branding places it in the Winston Select line, which R.J. Reynolds introduced in the late 1980s. The 120-minute SP tape format is longer than most promotional videos of this type, which suggests additional content beyond what the cover suggests. The tape is in good condition. It came in during 2025 and has not been opened on stream.