Slow Fade to?: Advertising in Ebony Magazine, 1957–1989

Abstract

This research investigated the changing image of blacks in advertisements in Ebony magazine from late 1950 to late 1980. Content analysis of paired samples from three decades revealed significant differences in the mix of products advertised as well as in the aesthetic qualities of models used in the ads. This research also found that while the Black Revolt of the 1960s “blackened” Ebony's ads, the fair-skinned, Eurocentric model had begun to reassert itself as the somatic norm for Ebony advertising by the late 1980s.