Diversity MBA Magazine - April 2008 - (Page 37) COVER / FEATURE STORY Boyd’s recruits. In 1940, he had been a finalist in a Pepsi- sponsored “How American Youth Faces Its Future” essay contest and hired as the first black male salesperson for the company. During World War II, he left Pepsi’s employment to serve in the Army. Boyd’s recruitment drive was an opportunity for him to return. “I was very closely aligned with the Urban League,” he recalls. “I was told, ‘There’s a man coming in a few days from Pepsi-Cola and they’re hiring. Would you be interested?’ That man was Ed Boyd. I brought two friends along, and Ed hired all three of us.” The friends were Jean Emmons and William Payne. Once Boyd lined up his new hires to form a team, whose numbers fluctuated from 12 to 16, he had assembled an outstanding group of African-American men who truly represented the best of black America. They were talented, well-educated graduates of institutions such as Harvard, Hampton, South Carolina Colored A and M College (now South Carolina State University), Boston University, and Pace College of Business Administration (now Pace University). One had received an MBA, among the first group of AfricanAmericans in the country to do so. Under Boyd’s guidance, the men crisscrossed the county, knocking on doors of Pepsi distributors and retailers, building rapport with leaders in black communities, opening new accounts and replacing their competitors’ products with Pepsi-Cola. “Sometimes all 12 of us depending on the size of the market would go out. If it was a smaller market, six men went,” McKellar says. But their travels into certain parts of the country weren’t easy. In the South, they encountered segregation. Jim Crow continued its stranglehold on black citizens. “White Only” and “Colored Only” signs were in plain view. Violence could erupt against blacks without warning. Lynching was still occurring. Stephanie Capparell, an editor at the Wall Street Journal and author of The Real Pepsi Challenge: The Inspirational Story of Breaking the Color Barrier in American Business (Free Press, 2007) chronicled Boyd and his men’s lives and careers. She recalls their many challenges on the road. “They had to deal with daily humiliations. In the South; they had to ride in the back of buses and eat in trains’ dining cars behind screens.” Fortunately, the salesmen were better treated M arch 2008 Top 5 0 Co m p ani e s after arriving at their destinations. The African-American community wel welcomed them with open arms. They were taken into black homes, provided with meals, and given places to sleep. In every city, they rubbed elbows with ministers, local leaders, and educators. They were special guests at churches and often asked to speak. They promoted Pepsi at clubs, social groups, and fraternity/sorority events. When the salesmen spoke at high schools and colleges, students admired them. “We were advising the young high school kids,” McKellar says. “And they were thrilled to see someone who wasn’t trying to be a teacher or doctor. They saw in us a golden opportunity to move in other directions.” In addition to speaking engagements and face-toface meetings, the team also decided to target larger audiences of African-American consumers through ad campaigns. Soon, groundbreaking Pepsi ads featuring African-American celebrities such as Duke Ellington, Lionel Hampton, Ralph Bunche, and Gordon Parks began appearing in black weekly newspapers, as well as Ebony and other black-geared magazines. Notable college students also touted the soft drink. In one Pepsi ad, a seven-year old boy appeared with his “mother.” 37
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