A History of African-American Advertising
By Bob Fagan on Feb 04, 2014
February is African-American History month. The One Club put together a short video entitled, “A History of African-American Advertising,” that debuted at the annual Here Are All The Black People event last September.
While African-Americans were featured early on in advertisements, most depictions were derogatory. That changed early in the 20th century when men like Claude Barnett realized the consumer market the African-American community had become. Blacks were increasingly making more money and, in turn, had more money to spend. Products specifically made for African-Americans began to be manufactured and marketed directly to them. Most of these products were made by African- American owned companies, and sold through black owned agencies and newspapers.
When the African-American market became big, mainstream companies realized the advertising potential. White-owned companies started to sell and market their products to the black community. They also started to hire African-Americans to sell to that market. Furthermore, special marketing teams were set up in ad agencies, and were trained to make ads geared towards the African-American consumer.
This led to the end of an era of black-owned ad agencies and marking the struggle to diversify the advertising industry.
While African-Americans were featured early on in advertisements, most depictions were derogatory. That changed early in the 20th century when men like Claude Barnett realized the consumer market the African-American community had become. Blacks were increasingly making more money and, in turn, had more money to spend. Products specifically made for African-Americans began to be manufactured and marketed directly to them. Most of these products were made by African- American owned companies, and sold through black owned agencies and newspapers.
When the African-American market became big, mainstream companies realized the advertising potential. White-owned companies started to sell and market their products to the black community. They also started to hire African-Americans to sell to that market. Furthermore, special marketing teams were set up in ad agencies, and were trained to make ads geared towards the African-American consumer.
This led to the end of an era of black-owned ad agencies and marking the struggle to diversify the advertising industry.
Related
The One Club for Creativity Stands with Ukraine
Our statement on the Ukrainian invasion
Cape Town Creative Boot Camp
Watch the Cape Town Boot Camp documentary
Baptized, Boards & Bull
Cultures aren’t static. At the 2018 One Club Creative Summit, we heard three different perspectives — pop, corporate and agency — discuss modern approaches to keeping culture relevant.
Best Beer Commercials - The One Club for Creativity
We hand picked some of our favorite One Show-winning beer spots from the past 20 years.