Minneapolis spokesman., 1963-08-29

Ing today and tomorrow, August
NY, clubs. All the same, industry
sources say that Ballantine beer Is
highly popular in Negro neighbor-
hoods and that this popularity
helps make Ballantine the biggest
seller in most parts Of its market
ing area in Eastern states.
Other companies also partici-
pate in Negro community affairs
as part of their public relations
programs. F. & M. Schaefer Brew
ing Co. Of New York sponsors a
Miss Beaux Arts" beauty contest
for Negro girls that parallels the
Miss Rheingold" contest staged
by the brewers Of Rheingold beer.
Pepsi-Cola Co., whose Philadel-
phia bother several years ago ran
into a boycott that LASTED until 1t
agreed to hire more Negro route
helped speed its return
to favor in Philadelphia by spon-
soring a Negro debutante ball.
Hamilton Watch Co. provides cal
endars of Negro civic and social
events for free distribution in Ne
gro communities. This summer
Ford Motor Co. launched a special
promotion among Chicago Negroes,
test drives of Ford cars
to members of Negro clubs and
The companies that succeed with
promotional efforts aimed specif-
ically at Negroes feel Negroes ap-
preciate the special attention. But
some firms are reluctant to give
the impression they view the Ne
gro market as something special
or different. They reason that Ne
groes might resent being singled
out at a time when they're striv-
ing for greater acceptance in all
areas of the nations life.
One Mans View
I'VE try to act as If we don't
even know there Is a Negro mar
ket," says a spokesman for one Of
these companies. I'VE don't think
the Negro likes being singled out
for special wooing. And we have
to admit we have quite few white
who would resent our
attempts to curry favor with Ne
groes If they knew about them"
Even some Of the companies that
have just begun to use Negroes in
ads firmly insist It's simply chance
that Negro models are suddenly
New York Telephone
Co. recently ran a newspaper and
showing a Negro businessman US
Ing a pay phone. "a man Of action
knows - you get action when you
read the ad. The COM
pany would have you believe race
wasn't considered in planning the
ad; the picture merely happened
to be a better photo than a SIM
liar shot with a white model" says
a spokesman.
Some firms have encountered
in their effort to cap
ture a larger share Of the Negro
Heublein, Inc, a distiller
and food professor, feels 1t has
hit a stone wall. The Negro mar
ket is a good one, but it's never
been good for u.s." says an official.
For some reason we've never
on with Negroes despite
our special advertising to them.
But this is such a large and i'm
portant market we just have to
grit our teeth and hang on"
A Boner?
Some Negroes say Rheingold re-
Gently pulled a boner In an ad that
ran In Ebony magazine, a Life-hke
publication that stresses stories
Of Negro successes in the white
world. The ad showed an integral
ed beach scene in Bermuda. But
those critical Of the ad felt this
wasn't realistic. Man, there's not
a Negro around who doesn't know
Bermuda Is the most segregated
place he can think Of" says q
Negro business executive derisive-
ly.
It's very likely that companies
wooing the Negro market in hopes
Of taking the spotlight off their
hiring and promotion policies will
be in for a disappointment. Says
Harvey c. Russell, a Negro who Is
vice president in charge Of special
markets for Pepsi-Cola: without
= hiring policy that ds fair to Ne
groes a company can lose much
of the effect Of any Negro market
ng program.