Tom Burrell

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Thomas J. "Tom" Burrell [1] (born March 18, 1939) [2] founder and chairman emeritus of Burrell Communications, became one of the first African Americans in the field of advertising. [3]

Contents

Early years

Burrell was born in Chicago, where his father owned a tavern and his mother worked for a beauty parlor. [4] He switched high schools to avoid being near "the wrong crowd" and it was in the second one that a teacher encouraged him to look into the field of advertising. [2] [4] He then went to Roosevelt University, majoring in English and with a minor in advertising.

Career

Burrell was "the first black person to work in a Chicago advertising agency." [5] After ten years of advancing, he and Emmett McBain opened their own agency, Burrell McBain Advertising. [6] Part of Burrell's pitch was that "black people are not dark-skinned white people," referring to differences in music preferences and other cultural differences. Burrell bought out his partner in 1974 and renamed the agency Burrell Communications Group. [2] McDonald's and Coca-Cola were early clients. [5]

In 1999 he sold 49% of his firm to fund expansion, [7] and subsequently stepped aside, becoming chairman emeritus of the agency; Burrell was later inducted into the American Advertising Federation Hall of Fame. [8] He also authored two books, Brainwashed: Challenging the Myth of Black Inferiority [9] and Brainwashed: Erasing the Myth of Black Inferiority. [10] [3]

One post-retirement recognition of his professional accomplishments came in 2017 from The One Club. [11]

Personal

He and his wife Madeleine Moore Burrell live in Miami. Burrell has donated to and benefitted from Chicago Lighthouse for the Blind since being diagnosed with macular degeneration. [2]

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References

  1. ↑ "Thomas J. Burrell. (1939-)". Advertising Age . March 29, 1999.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Burrell, Thomas J. 1939–". Encyclopedia.com . May 17, 2018.
  3. 1 2 "Tom Burrell, pioneering ad executive, selling South Loop condo". Crain's Chicago Business . April 6, 2018.
  4. 1 2 Adrienne W. Fawcett (June 3, 1996). "Perseverance pays dividend at $128 million Burrell shop". Advertising Age . pp. C2, C4, C6.
  5. 1 2 Daniel Hautzinger (June 28, 2018). "How Tom Burrell Convinced Corporations That 'Black People Are Not Dark-Skinned White People'". WTTW .
  6. ↑ "Burrell at 25". Advertising Age . June 3, 1996. p. C1.
  7. ↑ "Publicis takes stake in Burrell". Advertising Age . June 2, 1999. Chairman-CEO Thomas Burrell will own 43% of the agency, and executives will own the remaining 8%.
  8. ↑ "Members, Advertising Hall of Fame".
  9. ↑ Tom Burrell (2010). Brainwashed: Challenging the Myth of Black Inferiority. National Geographic Books. ISBN   978-1-4019-2592-5.
  10. ↑ Tom Burrell (September 2009). Brainwashed: Erasing the Myth of Black Inferiority. Hay House, Incorporated. ISBN   978-1-4019-2591-8.
  11. ↑ Lewis Lazare (September 20, 2017). "Chicago ad man Tom Burrell makes history with a top honor". BizJournals (Chicago).


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