Tom Burrell

"We're all imbued with creative juices. Squeeze the juice. Don't let anything get left behind."

Tom Burrell didn’t just make ads—he changed the conversation. As founder of Burrell Communications, he redefined how brands spoke to African Americans and how they were seen by brands. His revolutionary insight—“Black people are not dark-skinned white people”—became a cultural and creative awakening, inspiring generations of marketers to tell authentic stories rooted in truth, not tokenism. Over five decades, Burrell built one of the most influential multicultural agencies in history, shaping campaigns for Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Procter & Gamble, and more. His work celebrated identity, elevated representation, and helped reshape the American advertising landscape itself. Burrell’s groundbreaking contributions have earned him induction into the American Advertising Federation Hall of Fame, the One Club Creative Hall of Fame, and numerous lifetime achievement awards. His story and philosophy have been featured in The HistoryMakers series on PBS and his acclaimed book, Brainwashed: Challenging the Myth of Black Inferiority. A visionary, author, and cultural trailblazer, Tom Burrell proved that advertising could be more than persuasive—it could be profoundly transformative.