“Creativity is like a plague that I’ve contracted and I can’t get rid of. It’s just an itch I gotta scratch, I can’t stop. If I were in a jail cell facing execution, I’d be making something out of something. It’s a compulsive fixation that I’ve had all my life.”
That’s how the late David Kennedy, co-founder of Wieden+Kennedy, described his love affair with making things in a video created by advertising vet Rick Boyko for the Advertising Club of New York and the International Andy Awards.
From his famous ads for big brands including Nike and Honda, to the longtime charity work he did for the American Indian College Fund as well as the earthy, rustic metal sculptures he created as a fine artist, we take a look back at some of the most memorable fruits of Kennedy's creativity.
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Nike’s most famous tagline, “Just Do It,” first appeared in this ad starring Walt Stack, a popular member of the San Francisco running community who logged 62,000 miles over the course of his lifetime, running marathons even into his 80s.