Tom Burrell, who co-founded founded Burrell Advertising in 1971 and developed “positive realism” as a way of depicting African Americans using consumer products in an authentic and relevant manner, will be honored with the New York Festivals Hall of Fame Award, May 3.
The presentation will take place at the 55th annual New York Festivals® International Advertising Awards at a gala at the New York Public Library Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street.
The NYF Hall of Fame Award is presented to individuals who have had a profound impact on the advertising industry at large, whose personal excellence and extraordinary contributions have advanced the field of advertising, made a lasting impression on the creative community, and who continue to influence the profession in a significant way.
Burrell is one of only four Chicagoans, out of a large number of international luminaries, who have received NYF Hall of Fame lifetime achievement awards since they were established in 2009: Joe Sedelmaier in 2010; Red Car editor Bob Carr and DDB International chairman emeritus Keith Reinhart in 2011.
A native Chicagoan, Burrell started his ad career in 1961 in the-then traditional mailroom route at Wade Advertising while attending Roosevelt University. Within six month he’d been promoted to a copywriter on the agency’s Alka-Seltzer and Toni Home Permanents accounts.
Ten years later, after he’d been copywriter at Leo Burnett, FCB and a copy supervisor at Needham, Harper & Steers, Burrell teamed with Emmett McCain, who’d worked at Vince Cullers, Chicago’s first black agency, to form Burrell McCain.
Their 1971 opening was at a time when blacks in advertising were portrayed as scarce, stereotypical, dated and sometimes offensive. Their agency changed all that.
After McBain left in 1974, the agency was renamed Burrell Advertising and between billings grew from a $1,000 monthly retainer from a single client to about $10 million. P&G hired Burrell for Crest in 1983 to target blacks for the first time outside of its usual agency roster.
In 1977, the agency won its first Clio award for “Street Song,” a Coca-Cola spot featuring African American kids singing a cappella about the joys of drinking Coke. TV spots like “Street Song” and McDonald’s “Daddy’s Home” in 1977 significantly increased the recognition of Burrell’s work. Research showed that these spots crossed over to appeal to a general market/
Martell Cognac in 1985 was its first general market account followed by similar assignments from McDonald’, Tide, Kraft Foods and other national advertisers, and Burrell at $50 million led all African American-owned agencies in billings.
Despite significant ad industry recognition and financial success, Burrell had expressed frustration with being limited to mainly urban market work. In an effort to gain more general market assignment, in 1999 he strategically sold 49% of his company to Publicis Groupe.
In 2004, the year Burrell retired to pursue a career as an author and activist, he sold his 51% stake to long-time Burrell executives, Faye Ferguson and McGee Williams, who serve as co-CEOs.
Burrell Communications today bills close to $200 million annually and is one of the top US companies specializing in marketing communications targeted to multicultural, urban and youth markets.
