Video interview: Tom Burrell

Today we’re sharing an inspirational interview with Tom Burrell, co-founder of Burrell McBain Advertising, now Burrell Communications Group, along with Emmett McBain (more on McBain next week). Burrell was the first black person to work in advertising in Chicago, in 1961, where he began work in the mail room while observing the workings of the industry agency before becoming a copywriter. At first, Burrell had no direct contact with his clients: “It was radical enough for a black person to be working in an agency. Presenting that person to a client was another three or four steps ahead.” When Burrell McBain was founded in 1971, the agency aimed itself directly at black people and black culture. Burrell stated:

“Sometimes when you start talking to people about race and differences, implied in that is some kind of subordination, so I had to convince them that you can be different and equal, and that there are cultural differences that should be part of advertising aimed at a black cultural group, such as music.”

In this video, Michael Conrad, President of the Berlin School of Creative Leadership, interviews Burrell. In the first half of the interview Burrell focuses on the context and motivation for setting up in 1971. Burrell explains the challenges and nuances in selling to and targeting this distinct group. The latter part of the interview focuses on the subject of inferiority complexes within disenfranchised groups and minorities, particularly African Americans in the United States. He surveys the causes and effects of this predicament and examines how modern communication practices, particularly digital media can be effective in mending inferiority complexes within society. Watch the interview below: