"Caroline Robinson Jones"(February 15,1942-June 28,2001)

Caroline been called a pioneer,a success story,and a role model.She is not your typical ad person.She began her career as a secretary at an ad agency and worked her way,through sheer intent,to the top of her profession.Along the way she helped diversity the industry,placing blacks and other minorities in campaigns and developing marketing strategies geared towards minority consumers.In the book The Success of Caroline Jones Advertising,Inc."I understand what goes into achieving something.I understand the ups and downs of life.I do what i have to do to get the job done."She always.This commitment has not only made her a success,but has also made her an excellent role model--one that we can learn from.She born in in the small town of Benton Harbor,Michigan.The first girl of ten children born to Ernest and Mattie Robinson,Caroline seemed destined for business success even as a Young girl.Extremely inquisitive,she devoured books and spent summer hours in the local library.When not feeding her mind,she was filling her pockets."I always worked,she recalled in success."In the summer I picked berries for money.I also sold magazines subscriptions,greeting cards,pot holders,and cosmetics.I was always out selling something,"she added.Following high school graduation,Caroline decided to become a doctor.Considering that many universities were not yet admitting women to premed programs,this was a very ambitious goal.True to her go-getter nature,Caroline was not daunted.In 1959,just seventeen and having never left home before,she arrived on the campus of University of Michigan as a premed student.She enjoyed most of her science classes and did very well,by her sophomore year she had switched her major to English.Of this abrupt change,Caroline recalled and early anatomy class in success,"I fainted at the sight of a dead cat on the examination table."Still,not one to let any opportunities go to waste,she continued with the science classes she enjoyed and ended up up earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1963 with a double major in English and science.Just before graduation met with a representative from famed advertising agency J. Walker Thompson at a recruitment event and was invited to come to New York for an interview.In typical Caroline fashion she was determined to make the most of the trip."I gave myself one week to get a job,"she said in Success.Before the week was up,Caroline landed in the secretarial pool at Thompson.Despite her education and intellectual drive this was her only chance at the company.I wasn't qualified to be a secretary,but Thompson only let women enter the firm as secretaries at the time,"she recalled in Success.Bored and under-stimulated,Caroline volunteered for projects and willingly took on additional work.Through this she soon realize that she wanted to be in the creative department where the company's products-- advertisements and .In 1972,to pursue this goal,Caroline joined on as creative director of the Black Creative Group.By the time she left in 1975 Caroline had become a pioneer in the field of black consumer marketing and her advice and ideas were widely sought after.In 1977 she would become a pioneer in yet another way,this time as the first black female vice president of a major firm,the internationally acclaimed,BBDO (Batten,Barton,Durstine,and Osborne).Despite the dizzying success of her fast climb to the highest echelons of the advertising world,Caroline was not satisfied.She still was not in a position to really change the continued racial inequality she saw in the industry.In 1977,along with another prominent black advertising executive,Caroline formed Mingo-Jones Advertising.The firm found incredible financial successful blacks as if to say that only a black doctor or executive could sell products,Mingo,Jones reached out to regular people.Of the firm,she told Advertising Age,"We try to balance what blacks see....not to show blacks [only] as doctors and lawyers,bit it's all right to show blacks living in houses...aspirations are what advertising can be about."After ten years with Mingo-Jones,her own aspirations took off and Caroline set out on her own and formed Caroline Jones Advertising,Inc.Caroline Jones Advertising,founded in 1986,and later renamed Caroline Jones,Inc.Is a full service agency providing advertising,public relations,marketing,and promotions.She spent years working her way up the advertising ladder and pioneering black marketing techniques came together came together to  help her business grow exponentially.The skills she had honed in her years as a copywriter helped too.As the creator of such memorable phrases as, "Because You're Worth It"for L'Oreal and "We Do Chicken Right"for Kentucky Fried Chicken,Caroline had a solid reputation as a hands-on creative force."...I love to write advertising,"she told Essence,"You can be working on Rum one day,cars and trucks the next,and hosiery the next,"she continued.Under her guidance,the firm landed contracts with Prudential,Anheuser-Busch,the U.S. Postal Service,and Westinghouse Electric.The success of her agency afforded her the ability to stretch her influence further than the created world of advertisement.Upon forming her agency,Caroline told Back Stage,"This is somewhat of a breakthrough-- I am in a position that will  enable me to better effect my goals."Not only could Caroline use the powerful breadth of her agency to further divertising,but she was in a position to help people in a myriad of ways.She became a sought after lecturer at universities and business symposiums.She was wanted not only for her insight into advertising and marketing to black audiences,but because of her struggles as a black woman in a traditionally white,male industry.Others sought her out as a role model--the secretary who pulled herself up to pinnacle of her profession.For many years in New York she hosted a business television show,In The Black.On a global scale,she has provided business strategies to emerging African Governments.To each of these roles Caroline brings the incredible commitment,enthusiasm,and intelligence that has propelled her from small town girl to New York secretary,from advertising executive to renowned business leader.She told Essence,"I Don't do anything without knowing where I want to land.I trust my instincts and listen to my own wisdom.Caroline died of cancer in New York, New York.