Pioneering African-American Women in the Advertising Business

Biographies of MAD Black WOMEN

Judy Davis

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781317421665
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Business General
• Index: Business

Much has been written about the men and women who shaped the field of advertising, some of whom became legends in the industry. However, the contributions of African-American women to the advertising business have largely been omitted from these accounts. Yet, evidence reveals some trailblazing African-American women who launched their careers during the 1960s Mad Men era, and went on to achieve prominent careers. This unique book chronicles the nature and significance of these women's accomplishments, examines the opportunities and challenges they experienced and explores how they coped with the extensive inequities common in the advertising profession.

Using a biographical narrative approach, this book examines the careers of these important African-American women who not only achieved managerial positions in major mainstream advertising agencies but also established successful agencies bearing their own names. Based on their words and memories, this study reveals experiences which are intriguing, triumphant, bittersweet and sometimes tragic. These women's stories comprise a vital part of the historical narrative on women and African-Americans in advertising and will be instructive not only to scholars of advertising and marketing history but to future generations of advertising professionals.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of figures
• List of tables
• Acknowledgments
• List of abbreviations
• Introduction: black women and Madison Avenue
• 1 Women and African-Americans in the advertising profession: an historical overview of the industry and people
• 2 Barbara Gardner Proctor: unconventional advertising pioneer
• 3 Caroline Robinson Jones: tenacious advertising trailblazer
• 4 Joel P. Martin: transformative artist
• 5 Carol H. Williams: marathon woman
• 6 African-American women and structural oppression in the advertising industry
• Epilogue: extraordinary women
• Index