Vale advertising great Dan Wieden – co-founder of legendary advertising agency Wieden+Kennedy

Advertising great Dan Wieden – co-founder of legendary advertising agency Wieden+Kennedy, who coined the Nike tagline “Just Do It” – has died peacefully in his home in Portland, at the age of 77.

The agency released the following statement: “We are heartbroken. But even more so, we are overcome with gratitude and love. Thank you Dan, for throwing the doors wide open for people to live up to their full potential. Thank you for your steadfastness, courage, faith and abiding love. Thank you for making this beautiful creative life possible. We will miss you so much.”

Wieden and his former business partner, David F. Kennedy, together founded one of the most famous advertising agencies in the world. W+K became an advertising powerhouse, known for its iconic Nike campaigns, including the “Just Do It” commercials.

Wieden was born and raised in Portland, where he went to Grant High School. He graduated from University of Oregon with a degree in journalism, before he later got into public relations and copywriting. Wieden worked for Georgia-Pacific, a forest products company based in Portland.

On April Fool’s Day, 1982, Wieden and David Kennedy founded Wieden+Kennedy. With a card table, a few chairs, some cardboard file cabinets, and one client—Nike.”

Wieden never formally retired from the agency, it reads, but instead stepped into a chairman role and away from active agency life in 2015.

Currently W+K has offices in Portland, London, Amsterdam, New York, Delhi, Shanghai, Tokyo and São Paulo.

His business partner, David Kennedy, died last year.

Tributes are pouring in on Facebook, including one from Sudeep Gohill, a former planning director at W+K, now a partner at KPMG Australia: “The first time I met Dan was in a fireplace retailer in London near the old W+K office. We talked for hours, which was strange as it was meant to be a job interview, but it was also awesome. A few months later I was in Portland. Over the years I learnt so much from Dan from why post rationalising an idea isn’t that bad and how being nice isn’t a flaw in advertising!

“Hearing of Dan passing away is so sad, but I know that his spirit, soul and legacy will live on forever. Vale Mr Wieden – a friend, a boss, a mentor and one of the best of the best.”

Damon Stapleton on Dane Wieden.

Jeff Manning at The Oregonian/OregonLive pays tribute to Wieden in this story posted today.