Inducted 2008
Charles Claggett, Sr., began at Gardner Advertising as a copywriter in 1931 after graduating from Princeton, stayed for 37 years and rose to the position of CEO. Under his watch, Gardner grew from a small St. Louis agency to a top international firm, with offices in nine cities, and agency billings quadrupled. In his early work with Ralston Cereals, which included writing scripts and running the Tom Mix radio show, Claggett set up a Tom Mix fan club, bringing in 250,000 memberships from kids as soon as it was announced. The program became the top children’s radio show in the country. He also helped revive the Jack Daniel’s whiskey brand, advising the distillery to raise prices and limit supply to stimulate demand.
