Dan Wieden died
Dan Wieden is the co-founder of Wieden+ Kennedy, also known as W+K. He died peacefully on September 30 in his hometown of Portland at 77. He had taken the role of chairman at W+K in 2005. Wieden and partner David Kennedy had founded the agency in 1982, which went to coin one of the world’s most popular brand taglines: Nike’s ‘Just Do It. David Kennedy died in October last year. The agency had released a statement about Wieden’s passing. They have said they are heartbroken but overcome with gratitude and love towards Wieden.
They thanked Dan for throwing the doors open for people to live up to their full potential. They also thanked him for this steadfastness, courage, faith, and abiding love. They continued and thanked him for making this beautiful creative life possible and said they would miss him.
Wieden had never formally retired from the agency that he founded. He had stepped into a chairman role and away from active agency life in 2015. Widen is a native Oregonian and was born in 1945. He had attended Portland’s Ulysses S. Grant High School. He graduated from the University of Oregon’s School of Journalism and Communicating in 1967.
He had spent several years in public relations before finding his way into advertising. His father was in the business of advertising with Gerber Advertising. But it didn’t seem a fit to the younger Wieden until he started doing commercial freelancing and discovered he had a knack for the industry.
Dan Wieden started working on the Nike brand with partner David Kennedy at a small Portland agency. It was just the beginning of growth at that time. Phil Knight, the founder of the Nike brand, saw their talent and suggested both of them start their own agency. After that, only Wieden+Kennedy was born in Portland, Ore.
They have offices in Portland, London, Amsterdam, Shanghai, New York, Delhi, Tokyo, and Sao Paulo. It has been a tremendous journey for both of them.
Featured Image Credit: Adweek
