Closing the Gap: Professionals of Color in Advertising

1980s

"To some industry observers, the advent of the Hispanic advertising division was seen as a defensive move by the large general-market agencies who did not want to see any portion of their budgets diverted outside the agency itself to independent Hispanic advertising agencies"

Antonio Guernica & Irene Kasperuk, Reaching the Hispanic Market Effectively (1982)[1]

Hispania Records 8_SIN(2)

A 1981 article about the expansion of SIN [2]

At the turn of the decade, there was a growth in Hispanic marketing agencies as well as a development of Hispanic advertising divisions within general market agencies. Hispanic advertising agencies within the United States had existed at least as far back as 20 years earlier. They were the first to recognize the opportunities within the U.S. Hispanic market and had the expertise to make efforts to reach them.[1] Spanish International Network, or SIN, was a Spanish television network. It strengthened it's advertising influence in the late 1970s.  They hired Yanklovich, Skelly & White to conduct a study on the Hispanic market within the United States. SIN recognized the intricacies of advertising to this demographic. Bill Stiles, former executive vice president, found Spanish language versions of English language commercials to be problematic. In 1981, he stated:

"It just isn't a good idea, to give Hispanics some type of a warmed-over version of an English language commercial. When the advertiser's taken the trouble  to not only speak in Spanish but to think in Spanish, the consumer recognizes that and responds."

Furthermore, Stiles warned against the use of stereotypes. Men didn't have to wear "Pancho Villa mustaches" and women didn't need "roses in their teeth." He pointed out that the situation was more important than the casting.[2]

Hispania Records 2_Memos to Tony Ruiz(2)

A memo from Hispania [5]

As the general markets started to find value in Hispanic advertising, like Hispanic advertising agencies had done years prior, Hispanic divisions were created.[1] One of which was Hispania, the division under J. Walter Thompson, which maintained contacts with Spanish Language Radio stations and companies such as Bumble Bee, Burger King, Ford, Kraft, Sears, Ward Candy, and William Underwood. 

The 1980s also marked the beginning of several Asian American advertising agencies, including Kang and Lee in 1985 and InterTrend in 1981. At the time, 85% of Asian Americans were immigrants. Their desire to remain in touch with family and friends overseas lead to the telecommunications industry seeing the relevance of Asian Americans as consumers. Companies such as AT&T, Sprint, and MCI reached out to Asian American advertising agencies to jumpstart campaigns for the Chinese market, which then expanded Japanese, Vietnamese, and South Asian Indian markets, and later left opportunities for other markets.[3] 

The black agencies that survived the 1970s were able to obtain some success in the 1980s. But at the same time, general market industries continued to specialize in the black consumer market. This provided black agencies not only competition with eachother, but also with general market agencies. In the 1980s, African American social culture became popular. The term "urban" became associated with black trendsetters, who typically lived in urban environments. General market agencies gained interested in pursuing an "urban" audience, which reached youth and other demographic groups in urban settings.[4]

  1. Guernica, Antonio, Reaching the Hispanic Market Effectively : The Media, the Market, the Methods. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1982. 100-110. John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History. David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University. Print. 
  2. Company, J. Walter Thompson. Hispania Records, 1980-1985 and Undated. N.p. Box 6. SIN - Spanish In't Network 2/2 1981. John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History. David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University. Print. 
  3. Shankar, Shalini, and publisher Duke University Press. Advertising Diversity : Ad Agencies and the Creation of Asian American Consumers. Durham ; London: Duke University Press, 2015. 57. Print. David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.
  4. Davis, Judy Foster. Pioneering African-American Women in the Advertising Business : Biographies of Mad Black Women. New York, NY: Routledge, 2017. 48. Print. 
  5. Company, J. Walter Thompson. Hispania Records, 1980-1985 and Undated. N.p. Box 1. Memos to Tony Ruiz. John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History. David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University. Print. 
 

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