TL;DR: Tom Burrell founded Burrell Communications Group in 1971 and pioneered “positive realism,” a philosophy proving that culturally specific advertising outperforms generic campaigns. He built long-term client relationships with McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, and Procter & Gamble by centering Black culture in creative work. For today’s Black marketers, his career demonstrates how cultural specificity drives both connection and business results.
Who Is Tom Burrell? The Architect of Black Consumer Advertising
Tom Burrell changed how brands understood Black audiences and how Black people saw themselves on screen. His work in the 1970s and 80s established the business case for culturally specific marketing and created some of the first widely broadcast images of Black families as sophisticated, joyful consumers.
In 1971, Burrell co-founded Burrell McBain Advertising (later Burrell Communications Group) after a decade learning the business at major Chicago agencies including Leo Burnett and Foote, Cone & Belding. He saw three things at once: a large, underserved Black consumer segment; stereotypical portrayals in existing advertising; and a business opportunity to prove that culturally grounded work could win mainstream budgets.
Burrell Communications grew into the largest Black-owned marketing firm in the U.S., with long-term client relationships including McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Ford, Procter & Gamble, and Toyota. The agency thrived by insisting that Black culture was an asset, not a risk.
For Black marketers and creatives today, his legacy offers a blueprint for building culture-first work and a reminder that representation without accountability can still reinforce harm.
What he built
In 1971, Burrell co-founded Burrell McBain Advertising (later Burrell Communications Group) after a decade learning the business at major Chicago agencies including Leo Burnett and Foote, Cone & Belding. He saw three things at once: a large, underserved Black consumer segment; stereotypical portrayals in existing advertising; and a business opportunity to prove that culturally grounded work could win mainstream budgets.
Burrell Communications grew into the largest Black-owned marketing firm in the U.S., with long-term client relationships including McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Ford, Procter & Gamble, and Toyota. The agency didn’t just survive—it thrived by insisting that Black culture was an asset, not a risk.
The philosophy: “Positive realism”
Burrell’s signature line, “Black people are not dark-skinned white people,” became shorthand for his approach. He argued in client meetings that Black audiences needed distinct creative grounded in Black culture.
He called this approach “positive realism”: showing Black people using everyday products in authentic, aspirational situations like families, barbershops, church gatherings, and neighborhood scenes. The work centered Black consumers as the primary audience, using Black music, slang, and visual language without apologizing to white viewers.
This was strategy. Burrell understood that specificity drives connection, and connection drives sales.
Campaigns that moved the industry
McDonald’s (1970s–1990s)
Burrell’s McDonald’s work used Black music, slang, and family-centered storytelling to make the brand feel embedded in Black neighborhoods. The campaigns helped cement long-term loyalty and remain a core case study in targeted advertising.
Coca-Cola “Street Song” (1976)
An a cappella group performed a Coke jingle in a style tied to Black street performance. The spot is now archived at the Library of Congress for its cultural and historical significance.
Marlboro (Philip Morris)
Burrell reimagined the Marlboro Man for Black urban audiences. He dropped the white cowboy imagery and replaced it with cool urban Black men in everyday scenes. The tagline shifted from “Come to where the flavor is” to simply “where the flavor is.”
Crest (Procter & Gamble, 1980s)
The agency produced what’s cited as the first Black-targeted packaged-goods TV campaign, showing Black families and kids in everyday dental-care moments.
Toyota image repair
After Toyota drew criticism for a racist ad from another agency, Burrell’s team crafted new work that treated Black consumers with dignity and helped the brand recover.
These campaigns did double duty: they sold product, and they created some of the first widely broadcast images of Black people as sophisticated, joyful, and central to American consumer culture.
What he said about the work
Burrell’s thinking appears throughout interviews and in his 2010 book Brainwashed: Challenging the Myth of Black Inferiority. In it, he argues that centuries of propaganda created a myth of Black inferiority, and he calls on media and marketing professionals to challenge that conditioning rather than reinforce it.
He also coined the term “yurban” (young + urban) to describe a key Black youth segment, arguing that speaking honestly to this audience required respecting its creativity, language, and skepticism of mainstream messaging.
Industry leaders have called him a “legendary ad man” and credited him with “changing the face of American advertising” by persuading major brands to invest in culturally relevant work. He was the first African American inducted into The One Club’s Creative Hall of Fame and the Marketing Hall of Fame.
What this means for Black marketers today
Burrell’s career offers a blueprint: build work rooted in Black culture, prove it can win Fortune 500 clients, and insist that deeply specific Black stories can drive mainstream success.
But his later work on media stereotypes and internalized inferiority reminds us that representation alone isn’t enough. Even well-intentioned campaigns can reinforce harmful narratives if they aren’t grounded in community accountability and historical awareness.
Here’s what you can take from his approach:
Specificity is a competitive advantage
Generic “diverse” creative rarely connects as deeply as work grounded in a specific cultural context. Burrell proved that culturally specific campaigns outperform one-size-fits-all approaches in driving business results that clients care about.
Culture-first positioning wins budgets
Burrell positioned Black marketing as a growth strategy for brands that wanted access to an underserved, high-value segment. That framing opened doors and budgets.
Authenticity requires cultural fluency
“Positive realism” worked because Burrell and his team understood Black culture from the inside. The work used Black music, language, and visual codes without explanation or apology. You can’t fake that fluency, and clients can tell the difference.
Representation is a starting point, not an end goal
Burrell’s work moved the industry forward by putting Black people on screen in affirming ways. But his later writing challenges marketers to ask: what narratives are we reinforcing, even unintentionally? Who benefits from the stories we tell?
Resources to explore his legacy
- Brainwashed: Challenging the Myth of Black Inferiority (2010): Burrell’s book on media, stereotypes, and internalized narratives
- The One Club Creative Hall of Fame and Marketing Hall of Fame profiles
- NPR’s Code Switch and Planet Money features on his career and philosophy
- Archived Coca-Cola and McDonald’s campaigns at the Library of Congress
Tom Burrell proved that Black culture isn’t a niche—it’s a market. And that culturally grounded work isn’t a compromise; it’s a competitive advantage. His legacy lives in every Black-owned agency, every culturally specific campaign, and every marketer who refuses to treat Black audiences as an afterthought.
Looking for more trailblazers who shaped Black marketing? Join our community Slack to discuss industry history, share resources, and connect with other Black creatives building the next chapter.
Sources
- Adpulp: Tom Burrell, Ad Legend
- WTTW Chicago: Tom Burrell Profile
- Creative Hall of Fame: Tom Burrell
- NPR: How an African-American Ad Man Changed the Face of Advertising
- The HistoryMakers: Thomas J. Burrell Biography
- Highbrow Magazine: How Tom Burrell Catapulted African American Market Media
- Marketing Hall of Fame: Tom Burrell 2024 Inductee
- Encyclopedia.com: Tom Burrell
- Campaign Live: Tom Burrell Becomes First African American in One Club Creative Hall of Fame
- Dotdigital: The Birth of Black Marketing
- NPR Code Switch: The Black Advertising Pioneer Who Changed How Marketers Talk to People of Color
- Kenta Kopage: Ten Powerful Quotes from Brainwashed
- Brownstein Group: Black Lives in Advertising
