Chairman Emeritus, True North Communications Inc.
With a 41-year advertising career, Charles “Chuck” Peebler has been a major force in building the practices and nuances that comprise the way advertising is conducted today. His creativity, vision and business savvy made him the perfect leader of billion-dollar advertising networks and are the reason for his longevity in leading a major agency.
In 1997 ADWEEK ranked Bozell Worldwide as the eighth largest U.S. agency. But when he began work at Bozell & Jacobs in Omaha, he was a production assistant and the company was a $20 million shop. When Peebler took over the reins, he made more than 125 acquisitions around the world. Building and expanding the agency, he sold Bozell in the 1980s only to buy it back three years later. Within a decade, he merged the new company BJK&E with True North. By this time, the company was 150 times larger than when he started. He built such a dominant and innovative agency with sound business principles — dedication to the client, strong work ethics and enthusiastic creative style.
Working intimately on major campaigns was part of his personal style. Examples include “Pork. The Other White Meat” and the Milk Mustache, made possible when he partnered with the milk processors to fight for a referendum that would allow them to consolidate and spend funds for advertising. Peebler also recognized the value of diversity, establishing a strong multicultural network of agencies. Leading agencies within the African American, Hispanic and Asian communities culminated in the New America Strategies Group at True North. Always on the cutting edge, he also realized the importance of new media platforms, and Bozell funded DoubleClick, a five-year old company that now has a market capitalization of over $7 billion.
His dedication to excellence is also evident in his volunteer work, serving on the boards of the American Craft Museum, The Taft School, National Center for Learning Disabilities, Juvenile Diabetes Foundation International, the New York City Partnership and Chamber of Commerce and the Partnership for a Drug-Free America.
