Michael "Jeff" Charney is an American executive who served as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of companies such as Aflac,[1] Progressive,[2][3][4] and QVC .[5] In the advertising community, he is known for developing campaigns featuring company brand icons such as Progressive's Flo and Dr. Rick and the Aflac Duck.[6][7] He has won several awards such as Adweek's the Marketer of the Year and Brand Genius award, Ad Age's Creativity 50 and he was ranked #35 on Fast Company's 100 Most Creative People in 2012.
Education
editCharney attended high school at Palmetto High School in Williamson, South Carolina, graduating in 1977.[8] Charney graduated from the University of South Carolina with a degree in advertising/public relations in 1981.[8][9] He went on to earn his master's degree in journalism at Ohio State University in 1982.[7]
Career
edit
In 1997, he was the head of marketing at Kaufman and Broad (now known as KB Home). Charney organized the building of a real-life replica of the Simpson family's house in Nevada as a joint promotion for Kaufman and Broad and The Simpsons.[10]
Charney went on to serve as senior vice president of marketing and communications for Homestore.com.[11] While working for Homestore.com, Charney helped produce the Chris Smith-directed documentary film Home Movie, which became the first film produced by a private company to be shown at the Sundance Film Festival.[9]
After leaving his position at Homestore.com, Charney was appointed CMO of QVC in 2005.[12] He oversaw the company's "iQdoU?" advertising campaign in 2007.[13]
In 2008, he joined Aflac.[14] He developed multiple marketing campaigns featuring the Aflac Duck, which was created for Aflac by the Kaplan Thaler Group. These included campaigns such as "You Don't Know Quack,"[15] "Get the Aflacts,"[16] and a cross-promotion with the film Up.[17]
Charney left his position at Aflac to join Progressive in 2010.[7] During his tenure at Progressive, Charney created the character Dr. Rick[18] and further developed the character Flo, adding more improv elements to her commercials.[7] Other advertising characters Charney created include Motaur[6][19] and the Sign Spinner.[6] He also developed Progressive commercials starring athletes such as NFL quarterback Baker Mayfield[1][20] and LeBron James.[21]
Awards
editAdweek gave Charney the Marketer of the Year and Brand Genius award in the Insurance category in 2011.[8][22] Charney was also named to Ad Age's Creativity 50 and was ranked #35 on Fast Company's 100 Most Creative People in 2012.[3]
For his work on Progressive's advertising campaigns, Charney received Ad Age's A-List Brand CMO of the Year award in 2021.[23]
He received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Ohio State University in 2022.[24]
References
edit- ^ a b "Progressive's former top marketing executive, behind many Flo, Baker Mayfield and Aflac Duck ads, starts his own collective". cleveland. 2022-04-06. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ^ Klara, Robert (October 26, 2011). "Insurance: Progressive CMO Jeff Charney". Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ^ a b "Creativity 50:Jeff Charney, CMO, Progressive". Ad Age. 2012-07-06. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ^ Bruell, Alexandra (2021-03-10). "Progressive Marketing Chief Jeff Charney to Retire". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ^ "Retired Progressive Insurance CMO Jeff Charney launches marketing company". bizjournals.com. 2022-03-30. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ^ a b c "Progressive Insurance CMO who brought us Flo and Dr. Rick is retiring". bizjournals.com. 2021-03-10. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ^ a b c d "From the Aflac duck to "Flo" to "Dr. Rick," Charney's legacy built on disruption and out-creation | College of Arts and Sciences". osu.edu. 2022-04-01. Archived from the original on 2022-04-01. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ^ a b c "USC Journalism School honors Jeff Charney". thejournalonline.com. 2012-11-14. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ^ a b "Invigorating Brands The Charney Way" (PDF). Intercom: 12–13. Spring 2022.
- ^ Critchley, Emma (2020-08-13). "Blurring the Lines Between Fantasy and Reality: The Strange Story Behind the Real-Life Simpsons House in Nevada". Trill Mag. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ^ Elliott, Stuart (1999-08-11). "The Media Business: Advertising – Addenda – Web Companies Make Their Moves". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-10-08.
- ^ "Most Creative People 2012 - 35. Jeff Charney, CMO of Progressive Insurance". Fast Company. 2012-04-27.
- ^ Salkin, Allen (2007-09-21). "A Shopping Network Wants to Own the 17th Letter of the Alphabet". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-10-16.
- ^ Elliott, Stuart (2010-01-11). "Aflac Is Leaving Its Agency, and Taking the Duck". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ^ "Aflac begins 'You Don't Know Quack' campaign". bizjournals.com. 2010-01-18. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ^ Elliott, Stuart (2009-04-22). "Not Daffy or Donald, but Still Aflac's Rising Star". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ^ "Brand Awareness Was Only Half the Battle for Aflac". Ad Age. 2009-06-22. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ^ "Afraid of becoming your parents? Dr. Rick comes to the rescue, smartly satirizing a generational divide". Washington Post. 2021-03-16.
- ^ Stanley, T. L. (May 6, 2019). "Progressive's Perplexing New Mascot Is a Motaur: Half Man, Half Motorcycle". Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ^ Vranica, Suzanne (2020-10-03). "Coronavirus Upended Advertising. Here's How Brands From Progressive Insurance to Budweiser Responded". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ^ "LeBron James, Progressive Create 'FloBron' Campaign". SLAM. 2014-11-08. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ^ "Williamston native Jeff Charney of Progressive Insurance receives industry award". www.independentmail.com. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ^ "Progressive's Jeff Charney named Ad Age A-List Brand CMO of the Year". Ad Age. 2021-06-07. Retrieved 2022-10-16.
- ^ "Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award - Jeff Charney". artsandsciences.osu.edu. 2022-03-28. Archived from the original on 2022-04-02. Retrieved 2022-10-16.