Robert E. “Bobby” Luckie recently retired from Luckie & Co., the advertising agency founded by his father, Robert Luckie Jr., in 1953. To honor Luckie the company has instituted the Bobby Luckie Character Award, a trophy with a replica of half a sandwich on top. Luckie, affectionately called “B3,” is a famously generous man, known for offering half his sandwich to someone sitting with him at lunch time.
Born in Birmingham in 1947, he attended Shades Valley High School, then graduated from UMS in Mobile in 1965. After receiving his B.A. in marketing from The University of Alabama in 1969, Luckie worked briefly with WAPI radio in Birmingham before joining what was then Luckie & Forney in 1971, where he had worked during his college summers. From 1969-1975, Luckie also served in the Alabama Air National Guard.
During his 43 years of work at Luckie & Co., Luckie held pretty much all the positions there, from assistant account executive to chairman. Alongside his brother Tom, he helped the company grow to 132 employees with offices in San Antonio and Atlanta as well as Birmingham. On the occasion of Bobby’s retirement, Tom said, “Every young person entering the business world could learn much about leadership and life from Bobby.”
Luckie learned early to be, as he puts it, “buttoned up,” paying attention to details and doing the best possible job for his clients, which included Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama, Regions Bank, Little Debbie, American Cast Iron Pipe Company and Bell-South/AT&T. In 2000 Luckie was awarded the Silver Medal by the Birmingham Chapter of the American Advertising Federation.
A golfer since childhood, Luckie still plays and also collects golf memorabilia. He is known for his comprehensive knowledge of the UA football program. Even with his passion for Alabama football and golf, Luckie has found a lot of time to contribute to his community.
He has been active in the Parkinson Association of Alabama, Friends of Vulcan Park, the Kiwanis Club and Alabama Goodwill Industries, to name a few.
At his Alma Mater, Luckie serves on the Board of Visitors of the College of Communication and Information Sciences and also serves on the Board of Visitors of the School of Nursing at UAB. Jim Brown of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama calls Luckie “the ultimate gentleman” and says that “to know him is to like him.”
Luckie married Jill Harris in 1970 and the couple has three daughters, Mary Katherine, Casey and Laura, and seven grandchildren.
Robert E. Luckie III has exemplified dedication and integrity in his career in advertising and is a most worthy inductee into the College of Communication and Information Sciences Hall of Fame.