{"product_id":"the-real-pepsi-challenge-how-one-pioneering-company-broke-color-barriers-in-1940s-american-business","title":"The Real Pepsi Challenge - How One Pioneering Company Broke Color Barriers In 1940S American Business","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn America's long march toward racial equality, small acts of courage by\u003cbr\u003emen and women whose names we don't recall have contributed mightily to our\u003cbr\u003enation's struggle to achieve its own ideals. This moving book details the\u003cbr\u003estory of one such little-noted chapter. In the late 1940s and early 1950s,\u003cbr\u003eas Jackie Robinson changed the face of baseball, a group of African-\u003cbr\u003eAmerican businessmen -- twelve at its peak -- changed the face of American\u003cbr\u003ebusiness by being among the first black Americans to work at professional\u003cbr\u003ejobs in Corporate America and to target black consumers as a distinct\u003cbr\u003emarket. The corporation was Pepsi-Cola, led by the charismatic and socially\u003cbr\u003eprogressive Walter Mack, a visionary business leader. Though Mack was a\u003cbr\u003eguarded idealist, his consent for a campaign aimed at black consumers was\u003cbr\u003eprimarily motivated by the pursuit of profits -- and the campaign\u003cbr\u003esucceeded, boosting Pepsi's earnings and market share. But America\u003cbr\u003esucceeded as well, as longstanding stereotypes were chipped away and\u003cbr\u003eAfrican- Americans were recognized as both talented employees and valued\u003cbr\u003ecustomers. It was a significant step in our becoming a more inclusive\u003cbr\u003esociety. On one level, The Real Pepsi Challenge, whose author is an editor\u003cbr\u003eand writer for The Wall Street Journal, is a straightforward business book\u003cbr\u003eabout the birth of niche marketing. But, as we quickly learn, it is a truly\u003cbr\u003einspirational story, recalling a time when we as a nation first learned to\u003cbr\u003esee the strength of our diversity. It is far more than a history of\u003cbr\u003emarketing in America; it is a key chapter in the social history of our\u003cbr\u003enation. Until these men came along, typical advertisements depicted\u003cbr\u003eAfrican-Americans as one-dimensional characters: Aunt Jemimas and Uncle\u003cbr\u003eBens. But thereafter, Pepsi-Cola took a different approach, portraying\u003cbr\u003eAmerican blacks for what they were increasingly becoming -- accomplished\u003cbr\u003emiddle-class citizens. While such portrayals seem commonplace to us today,\u003cbr\u003ethey were revolutionary in their time, and the men who brought them into\u003cbr\u003eexistence risked day-to-day professional indignities parallel to those that\u003cbr\u003eJackie Robinson suffered for breaking baseball's color line. As they\u003cbr\u003ecrossed the country in the course of their jobs, they faced the cruelty of\u003cbr\u003eAmerican racial attitudes. Jim Crow laws often limited where they could eat\u003cbr\u003eand sleep while on the road, and they faced resistance even within their\u003cbr\u003eown company. Yet these men succeeded as businessmen, and all went on to\u003cbr\u003esuccess in other professions as well, including medicine, journalism,\u003cbr\u003eeducation, and international diplomacy. Happily, six of these pioneers\u003cbr\u003elived to tell their stories to the author. Their voices, full of pride,\u003cbr\u003egood humor, and sharp recollection, enrich these pages and give voice to\u003cbr\u003ethe continuing American saga.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAuthor: Stephanie Capparell\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Free Press\u003cbr\u003ePublication Date: 2008\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Thryft Singapore","offers":[{"title":"Like New","offer_id":44395466195225,"sku":"X17311","price":37.0,"currency_code":"MYR","in_stock":false},{"title":"Very Good","offer_id":44395466227993,"sku":"X17311","price":30.0,"currency_code":"MYR","in_stock":false},{"title":"Good","offer_id":44395466260761,"sku":"X17311","price":24.0,"currency_code":"MYR","in_stock":false},{"title":"Well Read","offer_id":44395466293529,"sku":"X17311","price":19.0,"currency_code":"MYR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0110\/0598\/4849\/products\/content_1fbabe32-0052-41aa-8c91-3b0a4389bac2.jpg?v=1717737035","url":"https:\/\/thryft.my\/products\/the-real-pepsi-challenge-how-one-pioneering-company-broke-color-barriers-in-1940s-american-business","provider":"Thryft","version":"1.0","type":"link"}