Charles Peebler
Encyclopedia
Charles David Peebler, Jr. (June 8, 1936 – April 18, 2009) was an American
advertising executive who spent over 30 years at the helm of agency Bozell & Jacobs, where he grew yearly billings from $20 million in 1965 when he was named president, to $4.3 billion in 1997, when the firm was acquired by True North Communications. Creative campaigns under his leadership included slogan-based promotions such as the "Got Milk?
" milk mustache advertising campaign
and "Pork. The Other White Meat
".
, the only child of a father who sold ads in the Yellow Pages
. He attended five different high schools, something he considered a positive in forcing him to reach out to meet others. He spent a single year at Des Moines, Iowa
's Drake University
before heading to Omaha, Nebraska
.
and Mutual of Omaha
. He acquired the company from his father-in-law in 1967.
Taking over as chief executive, Peebler built the firm by relentlessly pushing for new clients and through acquisitions. He grew the firm's yearly billings from the $20 million it took in when he took the helm in 1965 as president, to $4.3 billion by the time the firm was acquired by True North Communications in 1997. He was involved with creative campaigns that included slogan-based advertising campaign
s such as the "Got Milk?
" milk mustache and "Pork. The Other White Meat
" for the National Pork Board
.
Peebler approved the deal with True North in August 1997, after spurning a deal with Omnicom in June of that year when that firm indicated that it would fold Bozell into its organizational structure. The white knight
offer from True North, under which Bozell would retain its autonomy under the parent company's umbrella, was valued at $440 million. Peebler was named to serve as president of the combined entity, and would become the chairman and CEO of a business unit that would include all of True North's family of firms other than Foote, Cone and Bozell Worldwide. At the time of the acquisition, the privately-held Bozell was ranked 14th in annual billings in the advertising industry, with 107 offices in 23 countries.
He served on the board of the Ad Council
and was inducted into the American Advertising Federation Hall of Fame
.
He was one DoubleClick
's early investors, a company that was purchased by Google
for $3 billion.
A location on the lake along the Upper West Side
in Central Park
was named "Peebler Point" by the Central Park Conservancy. It was a place that he would take people over to see, even if they were uninterested.
After learning that he had been stricken with progressive supranuclear palsy
in 2001, Peebler eight years ago, Mr. Peebler devoted himself to fighting the disease and founded the Peebler PSP Research Foundation. which has financed more than $2 million in research.
Peebler died on April 18, 2009 at his home in Indian Wells, California
due to progressive supranuclear palsy
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
advertising executive who spent over 30 years at the helm of agency Bozell & Jacobs, where he grew yearly billings from $20 million in 1965 when he was named president, to $4.3 billion in 1997, when the firm was acquired by True North Communications. Creative campaigns under his leadership included slogan-based promotions such as the "Got Milk?
Got Milk?
Got Milk? is an American advertising campaign encouraging the consumption of cow's milk, which was created by the advertising agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners for the California Milk Processor Board in 1993 and later licensed for use by milk processors and dairy farmers. It has been running...
" milk mustache advertising campaign
Advertising campaign
An advertising campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication...
and "Pork. The Other White Meat
Pork. The Other White Meat
"Pork. The Other White Meat." was an advertising slogan developed by advertising agency Bozell, Jacobs, Kenyon & Eckhardt in 1987 for the National Pork Board. The campaign was paid for using a checkoff fee collected from the initial sale of all pigs and pork products, including imports...
".
Biography
Peebler was born on June 8, 1936 in Waterloo, IowaWaterloo, Iowa
Waterloo is a city in and the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census the population decreased by 0.5% to 68,406. Waterloo is part of the Waterloo – Cedar Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is the more populous of the two...
, the only child of a father who sold ads in the Yellow Pages
Yellow Pages
Yellow Pages refers to a telephone directory of businesses, organized by category, rather than alphabetically by business name and in which advertising is sold. As the name suggests, such directories were originally printed on yellow paper, as opposed to white pages for non-commercial listings...
. He attended five different high schools, something he considered a positive in forcing him to reach out to meet others. He spent a single year at Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
's Drake University
Drake University
Drake University is a private, co-educational university located in Des Moines, Iowa, USA. The institution offers a number of undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as professional programs in law and pharmacy. Today, Drake is one of the twenty-five oldest law schools in the country....
before heading to Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
.
Advertising and business
In Omaha, he worked at a department store, where he met Susie Jacobs, his first wife, and was hired by her family's firm of Bozell & Jacobs, a local company founded in 1921 that had regional accounts with Boys TownBoys Town
Boys Town or Boystown may refer to:*Boys Town , an organization dedicated to the housing and education of at-risk children, founded by Father Edward J...
and Mutual of Omaha
Mutual of Omaha
Mutual of Omaha is a Fortune 500 mutual insurance and financial services company based in Omaha, Nebraska. The company was founded in 1909 as Mutual Benefit Health and Accident Association.- History :...
. He acquired the company from his father-in-law in 1967.
Taking over as chief executive, Peebler built the firm by relentlessly pushing for new clients and through acquisitions. He grew the firm's yearly billings from the $20 million it took in when he took the helm in 1965 as president, to $4.3 billion by the time the firm was acquired by True North Communications in 1997. He was involved with creative campaigns that included slogan-based advertising campaign
Advertising campaign
An advertising campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication...
s such as the "Got Milk?
Got Milk?
Got Milk? is an American advertising campaign encouraging the consumption of cow's milk, which was created by the advertising agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners for the California Milk Processor Board in 1993 and later licensed for use by milk processors and dairy farmers. It has been running...
" milk mustache and "Pork. The Other White Meat
Pork. The Other White Meat
"Pork. The Other White Meat." was an advertising slogan developed by advertising agency Bozell, Jacobs, Kenyon & Eckhardt in 1987 for the National Pork Board. The campaign was paid for using a checkoff fee collected from the initial sale of all pigs and pork products, including imports...
" for the National Pork Board
National Pork Board
The National Pork Board, headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa is a quasigovernmental body of the United States government that was established under the terms of the Pork Promotion, Research and Consumer Information Act of 1985, also known as the Pork Act, which was included as part of the 1985...
.
Peebler approved the deal with True North in August 1997, after spurning a deal with Omnicom in June of that year when that firm indicated that it would fold Bozell into its organizational structure. The white knight
White knight (business)
In business, a white knight, or "friendly investor," may be a corporation or a person that intends to help another firm. There are many types of white knights...
offer from True North, under which Bozell would retain its autonomy under the parent company's umbrella, was valued at $440 million. Peebler was named to serve as president of the combined entity, and would become the chairman and CEO of a business unit that would include all of True North's family of firms other than Foote, Cone and Bozell Worldwide. At the time of the acquisition, the privately-held Bozell was ranked 14th in annual billings in the advertising industry, with 107 offices in 23 countries.
He served on the board of the Ad Council
Ad Council
The Advertising Council, commonly known as the Ad Council, is an American non-profit organization that distributes public service announcements on behalf of various sponsors, including non-profit organizations and agencies of the United States government....
and was inducted into the American Advertising Federation Hall of Fame
American Advertising Federation Hall of Fame
The Advertising Hall of Fame is a list of notable advertising leaders in America as chosen by the American Advertising Federation.It was founded in 1948 as a result of a proposal by the New York Ad Club and its president, Andrew Haire, to the Advertising Federation of America, the predecessor...
.
He was one DoubleClick
DoubleClick
DoubleClick is a subsidiary of Google that develops and provides Internet ad serving services. Its clients include agencies, marketers and publishers who serve customers like Microsoft, General Motors, Coca-Cola, Motorola, L'Oréal, Palm, Inc., Apple Inc., Visa USA, Nike, Carlsberg among others...
's early investors, a company that was purchased by Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
for $3 billion.
Personal
Peebler served as honorary chairman of the American Craft Museum (now the Museum of Arts & Design), among involvement with other charitable organizations.A location on the lake along the Upper West Side
Upper West Side
The Upper West Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, that lies between Central Park and the Hudson River and between West 59th Street and West 125th Street...
in Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
was named "Peebler Point" by the Central Park Conservancy. It was a place that he would take people over to see, even if they were uninterested.
After learning that he had been stricken with progressive supranuclear palsy
Progressive supranuclear palsy
Progressive supranuclear palsy is a degenerative disease involving the gradual deterioration and death of specific areas of the brain....
in 2001, Peebler eight years ago, Mr. Peebler devoted himself to fighting the disease and founded the Peebler PSP Research Foundation. which has financed more than $2 million in research.
Peebler died on April 18, 2009 at his home in Indian Wells, California
Indian Wells, California
Indian Wells is a city in Riverside County, California, in the Coachella Valley , in between Palm Desert and La Quinta. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 4,958....
due to progressive supranuclear palsy
Progressive supranuclear palsy
Progressive supranuclear palsy is a degenerative disease involving the gradual deterioration and death of specific areas of the brain....
.