Madison Avenue: The failure of integration in advertising—and what it says about race in America.

Madison Avenue: The failure of integration in advertising—and what it says about race in America.:

Here’s how it played out in advertising: Under government and public
duress to integrate their workforces, white agencies (or “general
market” agencies, as they’re often called) launched a wave of minority
hiring that had an immediate impact, taking the rate of black employment
in the industry from a rate of practically zero in 1965 to 3.5 percent
in 1970. However, since those same white agencies were now required to
subcontract projects out the door to minority agencies, their incentive
to bring black hires in was significantly diminished. The rationale that
black agencies used to justify their business model was that they were
more qualified to speak to black consumers, which in turn cemented the
stereotype that white people were more qualified to speak to white
consumers. Culturally, legally, and economically, the industry settled
into a pattern which ensured that “white” advertising happened over here
and “black” advertising happened over there. White agencies did little
more than token hiring and recruiting.