Burrell Communications Group L.L.C. is an American advertising agency whose assignments are among those tracked by

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

. Founded by chairman emeritus Thomas (Tom) J. Burrell, and headquartered in

Chicago, IL Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, ''Burrell Communications'' is one of the largest multi-cultural marketing firms in the world. Some of the company's work is part of a collection in the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

History

Burrell Communications was founded in 1971, by Tom Burrell and then partner, Emmett McBain, and was originally named Burrell McBain. When McBain left in 1974, Burrell renamed the agency ''Burrell Communications Group''. The company had been established to forge an authentic and respectful relationship with the African-American consumer, and to tap into how the black aesthetic could also appeal to the general market consumer. It was at this time that Burrell coined the phrase, "Black people are not dark-skinned white people." Recognizing that there existed inherent cultural differences, and the fact that these differences drove patterns of consumption, became a driving force and inspiration for future ad campaigns at Burrell. They had established a leading shop for niche African American -focused communications, beginning with the Black

Marlboro Man The Marlboro Man is a figure that was used in tobacco advertising campaigns for Marlboro cigarettes. In the United States, where the campaign originated, it was used from 1954 to 1999. The Marlboro Man was first conceived by advertising executive ...

for Philip Morris. Their list of accounts quickly expanded to include marquee brands

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

and

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...

. A ''Coke'' commercial entitled "Street Song" won Burrell its first

Clio Award The Clio Awards, also simply known as The Clios, is an annual award program that recognizes innovation and creative excellence in advertising, design, and communication, as judged by an international panel of advertising professionals. The awar ...

. By 1979, Burrell topped $10 million in billing per annum, making it one of the most successful multi-cultural advertising shops in the United States. Other accounts they added included Martell Cognac and Stroh's accounts (1981-1983). Burrell's "Double Dutch" Commercial for

gained national attention and a Gold Award at the U.S. Television Commercials Festival. By 1996 agency billing climbed to $20 million. To better serve ''Coca Cola'' Burrell opened an office in

Atlanta, GA Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County and extends into neighboring DeKalb County. With a population of 520,070 (2024 estimate) living within the city limits, At ...

. More work came from

Procter and Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/cons ...

, Crest Toothpaste,

Polaroid Polaroid may refer to: * Polaroid Corporation Polaroid Corporation was an American company that made instant film and cameras, which survives as a brand for consumer electronics. The company was founded in 1937 by Edwin H. Land, to exploit his P ...

and

Kraft Foods Kraft Foods Group, Inc. was an American food manufacturing and processing conglomerate (company), conglomerate, split from Kraft Foods Inc. on October 1, 2012, and was headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It became part of Kraft Heinz on July ...

Stovetop Dressing. The agency was awarded the Grand Effie by the

American Marketing Association The American Marketing Association (AMA) is a professional association for marketing professionals with 30,000 members as of 2012. It has 76 professional chapters and 250 collegiate chapters across the United States. The AMA was formed in from t ...

for its work on "Who Wants," a spot created for the

Partnership for a Drug Free America Partnership to End Addiction, formerly called The Partnership for a Drug Free America, is a non-profit organization aiming to prevent the misuse of illegal drugs. The organization is most widely known for its TV ad ''This Is Your Brain on Drugs.'' ...

. Burrell garners new clients including

Nynex NYNEX Corporation was an American telephone company that served five states of New England (Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont) as well as most of the state of New York from January 1, 1984 to August 14, 1997. Histo ...

Mobil Mobil Oil Corporation, now known as just Mobil, is a petroleum brand owned and operated by American oil and gas corporation ExxonMobil, formerly known as Exxon, which took its current name after history of ExxonMobil#merger, it and Mobil merge ...

Nabisco Nabisco (, abbreviated from the earlier name National Biscuit Company) is an American manufacturer of cookies and snacks headquartered in East Hanover, New Jersey. The company is a subsidiary of Illinois-based Mondelēz International. Nabisco' ...

A1 Steak Sauce A.1. Sauce (formerly A.1. Steak Sauce and sometimes stylized as A1 Sauce in certain markets) is a brand of brown sauce produced by Brand & co, a subsidiary of Premier Foods in the United Kingdom (as "Brand's A.1. Sauce") and in North America by ...

, Maxwell House Coffee and

Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co., commonly known as Sears ( ), is an American chain of department stores and online retailer founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosen ...

. Agency billing tops a record-breaking $128 million. Burrell acquires DFA Communications, a general market advertising and direct marketing agency based in New York, adding direct marketing expertise as well as a New York presence.

49% sold to fund expansion

In 1999 they sold a 49% minority stake to French media giant

Publicis Groupe Publicis Groupe S.A. is a French multinational advertising and public relations company. As of 2024, the company is the largest advertising company in the world by revenue. Based in Paris, it is one of the 'Big Four' advertising commpanies, al ...

in order to fund its expansion. Burrell Communications was awarded projects by

Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...

Hewlett-Packard The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company. It was founded by Bill Hewlett and David Packard in 1939 in a one-car garage in Palo Alto, California ...

and

General Mills General Mills, Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded ultra-processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in ...

21st century

In 2002 Burrell was named

Black Enterprise ''Black Enterprise'' (stylized in all caps) is an American multimedia company. A Black-owned business since the 1970s, its flagship product ''Black Enterprise'' magazine has covered African American businesses with a readership of 3.7 mil ...

's Advertising Agency of the Year Tom Burrell retired in 2004. The agency launched

Toyota Camry The Toyota Camry (; Japanese: トヨタ・カムリ ''Toyota Kamuri'') is an automobile sold internationally by the Japanese auto manufacturer Toyota since 1982, spanning multiple generations. Originally compact in size (narrow-body), the Cam ...

's in 2007 with their "If Looks Could Kill," the first digital campaign of its kind to target African American women. In 2009 they were granted the American Airlines account, and a Toyota ad was on the Super Bowl.

2010s

2010--Burrell launches Threshold Nation, a subsidiary dedicated to marketing toward the multi-ethnic urban male. 2011—Burrell Communications is named

's Advertising Agency of the Year and adds

Comcast Comcast Corporation, formerly known as Comcast Holdings,Before the AT&T Broadband, AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation, not th ...

to its list of clients 2013—Burrell launches Rising Tide, a Tide-sponsored aspirational social network for millennials looking for professional access. The program features hip-hop media mogul,

Russell Simmons Russell Wendell Simmons (born October 4, 1957) is an American entrepreneur, writer and record executive. He co-founded the hip-hop label Def Jam Recordings, and created the clothing fashion lines Phat Farm, Argyleculture, and Tantris. He has p ...

, sharing his wisdom with the young, professional audience. 2014—Burrell scores a major win the 2013 Toyota Avalon "Only The Name Remains" campaign, starring Academy-Award nominee

Idris Elba Idrissa Akuna Elba Order of the British Empire, OBE ( ; born 6 September 1972) is an English actor and musician. He has received a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for three BAFTA Awards and six Primetime Emmy Awards, Emmy Awards. He w ...

. The campaign won a Gold National ADDY Award, an Official

Webby Award The Webby Awards (colloquially referred to as the Webbys) are awards for excellence on the Internet presented annually by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a judging body composed of over three thousand industry experts a ...

Honoree, and was listed as the FWA Site of the Day. 2019—

Entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...

writer Christine Michel Carter named Burrell Communications Group as one of the largest global multicultural marketing firms.

Clients and awards

Some among their list of major clients have been using their services for over 30 years, among which are:

, SuperValu,

American Airlines American Airlines, Inc. is a major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the ...

, Lilly and Disney's Dreamers Academy. They've won major industry awards, including the ''

Clio In Greek mythology, Clio ( , ; ), also spelled Kleio, Сleio, or Cleo, is the muse of history, or in a few mythological accounts, the muse of lyre-playing. Etymology Clio's name is derived from the Greek root κλέω/κλείω (meaning ...

'' and a ''Grand Effie.''

References