Pitch Black: The Best Black Ads of the Past 50+ Years

Mark S. Robinson’s Pitch Black: The Best Black Ads of the Past 50+ Years is part curated gallery, part history lesson, a book that traces the evolution of advertising created for, and by, Black Americans from the civil rights era to the present day. The author brings 45 years of industry experience to the book and examines how brands moved from ignoring Black consumers to recognizing them as indispensable clients, and how “community relations” advertising surged as a powerful, if sometimes cynical, subset of multicultural marketing. The author explores the infamous missteps (Starbucks’ ''#racetogether'' fiasco, the Coors boycott, and Uncle Ben’s hollow “chairman’ rebrands, as well as Disney’s abandoned DEI pledges). Meanwhile, the book discusses the resonant work from AT&T, State Farm, Coca-Cola, and General Motors’ haunting tribute to the slave ship Henrietta Marie. An eye-opening afterword dismantles the myth that white actors have “disappeared” from advertising with hard data.

Pitch Black is an engaging read that moves decade by decade through bite-sized case studies that feel like miniature corporate dramas—PR fires, boycotts, and redemption arcs. The book is a study of brand icons, coaches like Eddie Robinson, and tone-deaf executives. The storytelling shines brightest when the author lets the ads speak, such as the Henrietta Marie copy narrated in the ship’s own voice. Mark S. Robinson’s book examines commerce as a civil rights battleground, authenticity versus tokenism, and the shifting balance of consumer power, giving the book provocative ideas for reflection. The voice is its greatest asset—wry, candid, insider-knowledgeable, and unafraid to call hypocrisy by name. There’s much to like in this book: the behind-the-scenes context, the rare archival ads, and the persuasive argument that Black advertising has always carried an agenda of social advancement. This book is essential reading for marketers, historians, and anyone curious about how America sells itself.