How Black Identity, In All Its Freshness and Different Beauty, Turned Blackness into A ‘Brand’ That America Wanted to Buy

NEW YORK, N.Y., Sept. 1, 2026 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — “Pitch Black: The
best Black ads of the past 50+ years” (ISBN: 978-1736621585), a new book by
advertising luminary, Mark Robinson, officially goes on sale September 7,
2026, and is destined to challenge what you think you know about American
business, fashion and culture. “Pitch Black,” chronicles a pivotal chapter
in America’s Civil Rights movement. 

“What if the most influential architects of modern American pop culture
weren’t the ad men of ‘Mad Men,’ but the unsung Black creatives who built
their own ad agencies in the shadows of Jim Crow?” asks the author.

The advertising images and messages contained in this comprehensive coffee
table book chronicle a previously unrecorded chapter in the history of
American business, fashion and culture, revealing how advertising created
by Black people and for Black people became one of the most effective tools
of the Civil Rights movement, changing the world’s perception of Black
America. 

“Today, African Americans have become masters of culture, art and commerce.
Today, there is no pop culture without Black people. And there is no
commerce without pop culture,” says Robinson. 

But this has been a long journey. How we got here is the story of Black
America in the advertising of the past fifty years.

Between chapters of historical curation, the book showcases the best Black
advertising images of the past 50 years, hand-selected by a panel of some
of the top Black creative leaders in advertising. 

Mark Robinson has spent the past 45 years in advertising at the industry’s
most prestigious agencies featured in Fortune, NY Times, Wall Street
Journal, Black Enterprise and Advertising Age. Robinson is a past member of
the American Advertising Federation’s Multicultural Marketing Leadership
Council, a national touring lecturer for the Advertising Educational
Foundation, and an ongoing mentor for the American Association of
Advertising Agencies. Mark was chosen by filmmaker Spike Lee to co-found
and manage his agency, Spike/DDB. 

Mark’s previous book, “Black On Madison Avenue,” winner of an astounding 9
literary excellence awards, is part memoir and part explosive history of
“America’s most un-diverse white collar profession.” 

Even before this book’s official release on September 7, 2026, “Pitch
Black” has already received four national awards for literary excellence;
the Literary Titan Award, the Booky Award, Readers Favorite, and the
Firebird Book Award. And now, praise has begun pouring in from across the
advertising world.

“Mark Robinson has done it again. In ‘Pitch Black’ he’s brought together a
wide range of advertisements with a bunch that you’ll remember and some
that you’ve overlooked. And alongside the ads, he’s brought sharp analysis
written in his trademark style. And his is no mere surface analysis, Mark
goes deep into the history to uncover the stories behind the creation and
intention of the ads and their impact on society and Black culture,” said
JASON P. CHAMBERS, Ph.D.; Author, Associate Professor, Advertising,
University of Illinois.

“‘Pitch Black’ brilliantly shows the cultural and economic upside of
getting it right, and the implications of getting it wrong. It’s a
brilliant read with practical advice and insights that are just as relevant
today as they were back then,” said John Osborn, President, SeenThis,
former CEO of BBDO & OMD.

Where can you go to see examples of the best and most successful
advertising created for – and created by – African Americans?

There is no central archive, library or museum where a collection of this
great and historic work is accessible or exhibited. Remarkably, “Pitch
Black” represents the first ever archive of that excellent creative work.