Thank you, Dan Wieden

“I feel so damn sorry for you,” were the first words Dan Wieden said to me.

I had somehow been invited to interview for the ad school Dan and Jelly Helm had started in the W+K headquarters called 12, and we were told to show up for lunch at this little restaurant in Portland. As soon as I walked in the door, Dan was there and he gave me that first line.

Dan went on, “You’re going to have the hardest year of your life. Susan Hoffman is going to kick your ass. She’s the toughest one we have. She makes us all cry. I can’t imagine what she’s gonna do to you.”

After the exchange, my heart was pounding and I was even more intimidated than when I walked in. I didn’t know what to say. Dan put his hand on my shoulder and added “I’m a little jealous of you too,” with a trickster twinkle in his eye.

That was my intro to Wieden, the man and the agency (and the brilliant Susan Hoffman). Provocative and kind.

The next year was hard as Dan promised, but it was also magical and life-changing. I got to experience the chaos, passion, debates, sky high standards, kindness, all nighters and messy humanity of the place Dan and Dave created. There would be more encounters with Dan like when he would stop by to offer some Jedi wisdom to 12, take us to lunch, share an elevator, randomly walk up and ask “what are you working on?” and that one time we sat in an empty agency and just watched a basketball game together.

The time I was privileged to be around Dan and the 14 years I spent at W+K, taught me the value and depth of his proudest creation: the culture. Yeah, we made some ads, but it’s the late nights, laughs, production grinds, legendary parties, stupid jokes and crazy respect you have for the talented misfits you work with that stay with you forever.

Thank you for everything, Dan.

You continue to move us all, dude.