Retrotisements – Burger King ’76

You wouldn’t know it these days, but it is in fact possible to market fast food to black Americans without acting as if they all loved either lame rap or watered down R&B; or as if they all spoke whatever the hip, urban vernacular of the day is (yes, I’m aware of just how painfully white that sentence makes me seem).

And I have the proof right here, in the form of two vintage Burger King print advertisements from 1976.  There’s no pandering or awkward attempts to integrate African-American culture here.  Well, perhaps a small one in the first ad (can you spot it?).

1976 Burger King "Have It Your Way" African-American advertisement

1976 Burger King "Have It Your Way" African-American advertisement

Your eye may first be drawn by those groovy fashions, but I immediately took note of the old-school wood decor found in BK establishments of the time.  Sadly, that wooden sign and many like it are either rotting away in landfills or were burned.  The pattern shirts share the same fate, if we’re lucky.

(Image credit: I nabbed these from the aptly named Flickr set, 1970s Era Ads Targeting African American Consumers.)

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