An Inspirational Story of Breaking the Color Barrier in American Business!

At the height of the cola wars and the dawn of the civil rights movement, a unique union was formed that forever changed American business: Pepsi-Cola became among the first corporations to hire African-Americans for white-collar positions, creating an all-black special-markets team aimed at selling Pepsi to the “Negro market”. These men entered uncharted territory and proved that, as author Stephanie Capparell writes, “determination, focus, and a sense of purpose on the part of the employees, combined with enlightened leadership, can enhance the bottom line white offering social benefits beyond the walls of the corporation”. In The Real Pepsi Challenge: The Inspirational Story of Breaking the Color Barrier, Stephanie Capparell provides a gripping account of the Pepsi special-markets team. Through team members first-hand accounts, she details the immense struggles faced by the salesmen and their unprecedented successes as they soldiered on in the face of adversity, earning recognition, prestige, and dignity for themselves and their community, helping to forever change American business. Although Pepsi initially hired these men to boost profits, the company ultimately pioneered the notion of workforce diversity. At the same time, it also changed how African-Americans were portrayed and perceived: as middle-class consumers. Under Edward Boyd’s leadership from 1947 – 1951, the members of the Pepsi special-markets division–twelve at its peak–helped to shape the corporation into a contemporary brand that not only integrated the workplace, but revolutionized the strategies of niche marketing. In their four years together, the team pioneered black advertising, black modeling, and market research in the African-American community. Even as the team was eventually dispersed in 1951, their legacy was evident across the country, as African-American salesmen acheived higher levels of recognition and the clout of the back consumer grew. One team member who continued at Pepsi-Cola became in 1962 the first African-American ever promoted to the post of vice president of a major company. “The Pepsi experiment was a beginning–for the company and for American businesses just evolving into modern organizations, and for the pioneer sales members,” write Capparell. The salesmen’s determination and perseverance helped foster ground-breaking contributions to society. “The Real Pepsi Challenge” eloquently captures the way these pioneers proved to the public the economic power of African-Americans, and their value in every level of business. Capparell is the author of Shackleton’s Way: Leadership Lessons from the Great Antarctic Explorer as has worked at The Wall Street Journal since 1990 and is currently an editor for its Marketplace page. http://www.simonsays.com/mediaresources”>www.simonsays.com/mediaresources