Before Tom Burrell, the advertising world was a very different place. But in the age of Mad Men, he was something different, too: an African-American man in advertising.Burrell started working in 1961 in the mail room at Wade Advertising in Chicago (a decision so controversial it saw the chairman fly up from his home in Florida).
Soon Burrell’s obvious talents were being used to write copy for the generic campaigns of the day. At the time the idea was simple: target everyone. But “everyone” in the early ’60s meant a “suburban white family.” That was soon to change.
Via - Visual News