Above: David Kennedy (left) and Dan Wieden.
There's an interesting profile of W+K founder David Kennedy just published in the Oregonian.
He's the man in black. Wearing baggy black jeans, black T-shirt, black hoodie and black sneakers that could use a good wash, David Kennedy ambles, even shuffles, before extending his hand to shake. He's still as an owl, with a scraggly silver beard and grassy gray hair.
Improbable as it might seem, Kennedy co-founded one of the most dynamic, boundary-breaking advertising agencies in America, an agency that emits judo-tough smarts from Portland to Amsterdam to Shanghai...
Kennedy is the guy who supposedly left the business in 1995. But he still wanders into the office a couple days a week to hang out with the kids and work on the American Indian College Fund account, one of W+K's pro bono accounts and the most meaningful one to Kennedy...
The lack of daily responsibility has given Kennedy's week a circadian
rhythm. One minute he's advising on the Native American account, the
next he's sketching an idea for a sculpture. And after that, he's
goofing around with Jeff Selis, an agency creative who glides into
Kennedy, parked at a work table, while riding a skateboard.
"I'm going to Texas," says Selis, stopping and clutching his board. "What would you like me to bring back?"
"Bring back some grits," says Kennedy, in a gruff Texas drawl.
"Spicy or mild?"
"Mild. As mild as it comes."
I met Dave a couple of years ago when he came over to the UK with Dan to give a talk at D&AD. He's a quiet kind of guy, but he had some great stories to tell.
Read the full article here.
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