From Adweek…
Jo Muse, Father of Multicultural Advertising, Dies at 72
By Kyle O’Brien
Jo Muse, founder of the first multicultural marketing agency died on April 9 at the age of 72. He was passionate not only about pushing boundaries in creativity but also about ending what he saw as segregation of the advertising industry. Because of that legacy, Muse was inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame in 2022, one of many honors for Muse.
Muse broke barriers and continued to open doors to many people of color and women. He believed everyone with talent deserved a seat at the table. He co-founded Muse Cordero Chen, the first true multiethnic agency, when he, David Chen and Mavis Cordero were pitching the same client in 1987. But the seeds of that event were planted long before, when he graduated from the advertising program at Michigan State University in 1972.
“I was actively discouraged from pursuing employment at a traditional advertising agency. At the time, African Americans did not work in general marketing and advertising,” he wrote in the Michigan State alumni newsletter. “Like the Negro Leagues were to Major League Baseball, African Americans seeking employment in advertising had to take their game elsewhere.”
Muse knew that if he was to change that dynamic, he would have to start his own shop.
Rather than separate agencies siloed into separate markets, Muse Cordero Chen could target Black, Latino and Asian consumers. The idea worked, even if, as the New York Times called it, it sounded like a high-concept sitcom: “An advertising agency run by a Black entrepreneur, an Asian journalist and a Colombian would-be opera singer.”
At the center of Muse Cordero Chen’s approach was something Jo called the “Zones of Commonality”: it hired diverse people and cast individuals from ethnic backgrounds. “We wanted to reflect the end consumers our clients wanted to reach,” Muse had said.
Muse Cordero Chen became Nike’s first-ever ethnic agency in 1990. The agency focused on issues that were roiling the Black community at the time, including family values. One controversial print ad showed silhouettes of two basketball players talking about the dual sides of their fathers. “My dad runs around,” one boy says, while the other responds, “My dad runs 4 miles a day.”
Muse had a commitment was to diversity across the industry. His goal was to foster talent that was so good, alumni could go anywhere in the business. He particularly focused on creatives, and women of color. One of the greatest compliments he received was when Dan Wieden of Wieden+Kennedy told him that he could hire any of Jo’s people.
His employees were incredibly loyal, with many of them staying at the agency for a decade or more.
“He taught us so much. He showed us that creative brilliance has no gender or racial biases,” said his son, Jordan. “Most importantly, he showed us that race was an illusion. What’s real is how people act, feel and relate to each other. We will miss him deeply.”
While he didn’t push for his children to go into advertising, both of his children worked with him for a period of time. Jordan, now executive partner and head of account leadership at The Martin Agency, was admitted to the American Advertising Federation Hall of Achievement in the same year Jo entered the Hall of Fame. His daughter, Aireka, is a creative director, screenwriter and the founder of her own agency, A + B.
Muse sold his agency, by then Muse Communications, to Will Campbell of Quantasy after years of partnering together. Many of the Muse employees remain at Quantasy. “Jo’s legacy will always be embedded in the work we do,” Will says. “Jo was a brilliant ad man who understood culture and advertising like none other. Along with that, he was a compassionate and funny teacher, supporter, business partner, and mentor.”
After he retired, Muse hosted a podcast called Musings with Jo Muse, and served on the board of the Center Theatre Group. He wrote his first novel, “Mixed Blessings, Is Race Real?” and was working on an autobiography called “From Mississippi to Madison Ave.”
A family statement said: “Jo Muse was our guiding light and our immeasurable center. We have lost our father, husband, Papa Jo, brother and best friend.”
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