Customer Reviews

Madison Avenue and the Color Line: African Americans in the Advertising Industry

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Madison Avenue and the Color Line is a difficult book to put down. Professor Chambers is lucid in his chronicle of the history of African-Americans in print, radio, television, and advertising. This book describes the emergence of the black consumer market and accounts for the many, unknown champions who fought for "positive" and "real" portrayals of African Americans in communication mediums. As America continues to morph from a bowl of milk, with a few fruity pebbles, into a tossed salad, where unique taste and cultures are celebrated, Chambers book is "a must read" for anyone working in advertising, aspiring to reach segmented consumer markets, or making marketing decisions.

The lack of diversity in the advertising industry has received considerable press coverage recently with many thoughts and opinions about the reasons for the lack of diversity and the perspective of the agencies in New York and nationally. The book provides an incredibly well researched account of the history of blacks in the advertising industry far beyond anything ever published. The names, companies, trade organizations and the challenges that have come before us provide factual perspective on the efforts, success and challenges that have come along the way.

If you are in the industry or interested in entering the industry Madison Avenue no matter what color, culture or background the book is a great baseline to examine the history of people of color without the emotional accusations.

* Excellent blend of the academic and anecdotal
* Provides great insight on the realities for African-Americans and people of color in the advertising industry and the larger media industry.
* A must read for everyone working in the advertising/media industry or people entering the industry
* Also a good resource for college courses in advertising/communications/media studies