Do You Know His Name?

Black History Month is a time for us to celebrate the positive impact African Americans have had on our nation.

As advertisers, we can credit the advancement of our craft to many contributors, but when it comes to the diversity in advertising, the most notable game-changer is Tom Burrell.

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Tom made history as the first Black man in the Chicago advertising industry back in the 1960s. Advertising, then a primarily White male-dominated field, wasn’t known for its diversity or cultural sensitivity.

Tom devoted his career to changing that. He challenged how marketers addressed Black audiences.

“Black people are not dark-skinned white people,” he would say.

Wow. Doesn’t that get at the heart of how advertisers addressed diversity then, and sometimes still today? “Color-blindness” is an attractive concept to the majority, but it completely ignores the uniqueness of African-American culture.

One of Burrell’s major tasks was tailoring a McDonald’s campaign to African Americans. The former campaign slogan was “You deserve a break today,” positioning McDonald’s as an occasional treat.

However, market research showed that African Americans were frequenting McDonalds much more often. It was less of a treat, and a bigger part of their experience. He pitched the wildly successful slogan “McDonald’s is good to have around,” better representing the brand in the African American community.

Burrell saw the African-American community as involved consumers. Whereas past advertising only considered how the white majority made purchasing decisions, Burrell’s acknowledgement of Black culture kickstarted inclusive diversity in advertising.

Have we arrived? Is advertising completely in sync with the diversity of today’s America? Most would say no.

But as we celebrate Black history, we can ask:

Where would we be without African Americans?

Where would advertising be without Tom Burrell?

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