Historically, African American participation in advertising meant stereotypical images on product packaging. Some were blatantly racist.
In the United States, Blacks first appeared in ads during the 1870s when so-called ethnic humor was displayed on trade cards. The most upsetting representation was that of abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass. His image was printed alongside his second wife, who was a white woman, taking a product called Sulpher Bitters to lighten her skin.
Blacks were made to appear subservient and ignorant in ads and were the favorites to represent domestic or menial labor, something that needed to change. But first, the barrier to the business side of the industry had to be destroyed.
Vincent Cullers (1924–2003), an Art Institute of Chicago and University of Chicago graduate, boasted an impressive creative portfolio. It drew the attention of agencies in both Chicago and New York City. Work as an illustrator would have been easy to obtain but offers were quickly rescinded when Cullers showed his face. Once he arrived to start work, he was told there was no position open. There were times that he never made it past an agency’s waiting area.
Determined not to allow rejection to control his career path, and inspired by the Civil Rights Movement, Cullers decided to take the entrepreneurial route. In 1956, after freelancing for a few years, Vince Cullers Advertising opened in Chicago. His goal was to present images of Blacks in a positive light, and to educate and employ more Blacks in his agency.
The first African American to open a full-service advertising company, Cullers would later become a pioneer of ethnic/targeted/multicultural advertising in the United States.
During an interview with the “Chicago Tribune,” Tom Burrell, of Burrell Communications Group, said there were “rarely any Blacks to be seen in advertisements up until that point … He established the template for targeted marketing in this country.”
That first year, the agency billed less than $10,000. But by 1968, Vincent Cullers Advertising landed its first major contract: Lorillard, Inc., the maker of True and Kent cigarettes. For the campaign, Cullers jettisoned the idea of creating an ad to please what he called “a Black white person,” and instead featured a black man dressed in a dashiki.
This was during the time when the Black Power Movement was at its peak. Dashikis were commonly worn as a display of Black pride. Thus, the next campaign was no surprise: Johnson Products commissioned the creation of ads for its Black hair care product Afro Sheen. By the late 1990s, the agency boasted a staff of 25 and reported annual billings totaling $18 million.
About his success, Cullers often said: “To me, it’s not important that we were the first, second or third Black agency, but that we managed to survive, that we were able to provide a training ground for Blacks entering the industry and that we were able to continue to prosper.”
Cullers’ son Jeffrey took over the agency in 2002 when Vincent retired. The elder Cullers passed away in 2003.
Tamara Shiloh
Tamara Shiloh has published the first two books in her historical fiction chapter book series,
Just Imagine…What If There Were No Black People in the World is about African American inventors, scientists and other notable Black people in history. The two books are
Jaxon’s Magical Adventure with Black Inventors and Scientists and
Jaxon and Kevin’s Black History Trip Downtown. Tamara Shiloh has also written a book a picture book for Scholastic,
Cameron Teaches Black History, that will be available in June, 2022.
Tamara Shiloh’s other writing experiences include: writing the Black History column for the Post Newspaper in the Bay area, Creator and Instruction of the black History Class for Educators a professional development class for teachers and her non-profit offers a free Black History literacy/STEM/Podcast class for kids 3d – 8th grade which also includes the Let’s Go Learn Reading and Essence and tutorial program. She is also the owner of the Multicultural Bookstore and Gifts, in Richmond, California,
Previously in her early life she was the /Editor-in-Chief of
Desert Diamonds Magazine, highlighting the accomplishments of minority women in Nevada; assisting with the creation, design and writing of a Los Angeles-based, herbal magazine entitled
Herbal Essence; editorial contribution to
Homes of Color; Editor-in-Chief of
Black Insight Magazine, the first digital, interactive magazine for African Americans; profile creations for sports figures on the now defunct PublicFigure.com; newsletters for various businesses and organizations; and her own Las Vegas community newsletter,
Tween Time News, a monthly publication highlighting music entertainment in the various venues of Las Vegas.
She is a member of:
- Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI)
- Richmond Chamber of Commerce
- Point Richmond Business Association
- National Association of Professional Women (NAPW)
- Independent Book Publishers Association (IPBA)
- California Writers Club-Berkeley & Marin
- Richmond CA Kiwanis
- Richmond CA Rotary
- Bay Area Girls Club
Tamara Shiloh, a native of Northern California, has two adult children, one grandson and four great-grand sons. She resides in Point Richmond, CA with her husband, Ernest.
www.multiculturalbookstore.com
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