Dan Gordon Wieden (; March 6, 1945 – September 30, 2022) was an American advertising executive who co-founded ad firm

Wieden+Kennedy Wieden+Kennedy (W+K; earlier styled ''Wieden & Kennedy'') is an American independent global advertising agency best known for its work for Nike, Inc., Nike. Founded by Dan Wieden and David Kennedy (advertising), David Kennedy, and headquartered ...

. A native of

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

, he coined the Nike tagline "

Just Do It ''Just Do It '' or JDI for short is a trademark of shoe company Nike, and it is one of the core components of Nike's brand. The slogan was coined in 1988 at an advertising agency meeting. The founder of the Wieden+Kennedy agency, Dan Wieden, cr ...

Early life

Wieden was born in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...

, on March 6, 1945, to Duke Wieden who was in advertising, and his wife Violet. Wieden attended Ulysses S. Grant High School in northeast Portland, where he was on the swim team. In 1966, he married Bonnie Scott (d. 2008), and they had four children. After graduation from Grant, he enrolled at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

in Eugene, graduating from its School of Journalism and Communication in 1967.

Career

After college Wieden worked at Georgia-Pacific, then headquartered in Portland. After time as a freelance writer, he was hired at

McCann-Erickson McCann, formerly McCann Erickson, is an American global advertising agency network, with offices in 120 countries. McCann is part of McCann Worldgroup, along with several other agencies, including direct digital marketing agency MRM//McCann, expe ...

, an ad agency where he first met David Kennedy, with that agency handling the Georgia-Pacific account from its Portland office. In 1981, Georgia-Pacific moved to Atlanta, and McCann-Erickson closed their Portland shop, with Wieden moving to the William Cain advertising agency with Kennedy. There, the two started handling the then small

Nike, Inc. Nike, Inc. ( or ) is an American multinational corporation that is engaged in the design, development, manufacturing, and worldwide marketing and sales of footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories, and services. The company is headquartered ne ...

account. The next year, on April 1, the two started their own advertising firm, Wieden & Kennedy. One of the new firm's main accounts was Nike, with Wieden coining the "Just Do It" tagline for the sportswear company in 1988. Wieden and David Kennedy were listed as number 22 on the ''

Advertising Age ''Ad Age'' (known as ''Advertising Age'' until 2017) is a global media brand that publishes news, analysis, and data on marketing and media. Its namesake magazine was started as a broadsheet newspaper in Chicago in 1930. ''Ad Age'' appears in m ...

'' 100 ad people of the 20th century. He was named one of America's 25 most intriguing entrepreneurs by '' Inc.'' Berger, Warren (April 1, 2004)
because he's a true independent.
'' Inc.'' Wieden has been Oregon's Professional of the Year, Oregon's Entrepreneur of the Year, one of the world's 50 CyberElite by ''Time'' magazine, and one of 32 members of the

One Club The One Club is an American non-profit organization that recognizes and promotes excellence in advertising.Dougherty, Philip H. (May 11, 1981). One Club Honors Agencies. ''New York Times'' Founded in New York City as The One Club for Art & Copy ...

Creative Hall of Fame. Wieden was featured in

Doug Pray Doug Pray is an American documentary film director, cinematographer, and editor who often explores unique subcultures in his films. His work includes ''Surfwise'' (2008), a portrait of the nomadic, 11-member Doc Paskowitz family (often referred to ...

's documentary '' Art & Copy''. In 2015, he stopped daily work for the company.

Later life and death

Wieden was the founder of Caldera, a nonprofit arts education organization and camp for at-risk youth located in

Sisters, Oregon Sisters is a city in Deschutes County, Oregon, United States. It is part of the Bend, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,038 at the 2010 census. History The community takes its name from the nearby Three Sisters mount ...

. In 1999, he was inducted into the University of Oregon's Hall of Achievement. After his first wife died in 2008, he married Priscilla Bernard in 2012. Wieden died from complications of Alzheimer's disease on September 30, 2022, in Portland, at the age of 77.

References

External links

Dan Wieden profile
in 100 ad people of the 20th century.

via

Caldera, a nonprofit arts education organization founded by WiedenDan Jordan
Dan Wieden's favorite copywriter {{DEFAULTSORT:Wieden, Dan 1945 births 2022 deaths American advertising executives Grant High School (Portland, Oregon) alumni Businesspeople from Oregon Wieden+Kennedy people University of Oregon alumni 20th-century American businesspeople Deaths from Alzheimer's disease Deaths from dementia in Oregon