While the announcement was made earlier this year, last week saw the official induction of Wieden + Kennedy’s partner and Executive Creative Director, John C Jay, into the Art Directors Club Hall of Fame. As the driving force behind both the creative agency W+K (who have continually pushed the envelope for creative communications with the likes of Nike), Jay has become an important inspiration for both the creative industry and Asian-American creatives. This following video is a tribute with several notable names including Nike’s Mark Parker all making an appearance.

A new video from 44 Club highlights the successful client-agent relationship between Nike Corporation and Portland-based agency Wieden+Kennedy. Having worked together for nearly 30 years (a true rarity in today’s crazed public relations and advertising market), the two companies have obviously managed to work together for the mutual benefit of the other firm. In this video, Nike’s Ed Elworthy and Weiden+Kennedy’s Nic Owen sit down to talk about the positives and the negatives of the business.

Source: Better Never Than Late

Wieden+Kennedy’s WK12 enters its eighth year as a program hinged on offering creative opportunities to a new batch of incoming creatives. Those given the opportunity to enlist in WK12 will quickly realize the intense world of creative problem solving that only a handful of global ad agencies around the world like Wieden+Kennedy can offer. For those unfamiliar, W+K has been an integral part of the advertising and creative landscape, helping successfully launch severely huge campaigns for some of your favorite brands including Nike, Jordan Brand, Old Spice, Coca-Cola and Levi’s among others. We spoke with directors Andrew Dickson and Byron Oshiro who each offered a unified insight into the inner workings of Wieden+Kennedy and WK12.

Applications are due on August 7, 2011 with more information available through the WK12 website, the WK12 Tumblr .

What is the history of the Wieden+Kennedy 12 program?
WK12 started in 2004 and we’re currently in our seventh year. Dan Wieden wanted to create a program that was unlike all the others out there that were facilitating the same type of ‘creative.’ While the program has gone through various changes in leadership and policy, the basic purpose of it has stayed the same. The 12 learn how to come up with smarter, cheaper and more insightful ideas, faster and then execute them professionally. It’s problem solving and making school. The key difference between WK12 and other traditional portfolio schools is that students work on real campaigns for real clients. Work that ends up in the real world. Students also work on assignments, internal agency projects/problems and self-initiated projects.

What is the importance of the program?
For the students themselves that’s probably a highly personal answer. For the Agency, the benefits are endless. The students bring new ideas and insights, rethink agency traditions and generally raise just enough hell not to wear out their welcome. While we don’t hire all or even most of the school graduates, part of the reason for starting the school was to bring people into the business who haven’t wanted to work in advertising all their lives. Something interesting happens when you bring artists and poets and musicians and small business owners to a problem. You get really interesting solutions.

What are you looking for in potential prospects?
Creative problem solvers with diverse interests and skills excited to collaborate with people unlike themselves. And people who are interested in the experience itself as opposed to what doors the experience might open up.

Creativity is deemed as an intangible quality that essentially defines many entities such as W+K. How does W+K help foster and develop this?
By taking chances and experimenting. WK12 started as an experiment and it’s turned out quite nicely. Our London office has a completely different kind of program called Platform that brings a digital collective inside the agency. Our Amsterdam office just started a educational internship called The Kennedys. Our Tokyo office runs a record label. Our Delhi office publishes a magazine. Right now, our Portland office is starting the second year of PIE, a digital business incubator that gives start-ups free rent and a stipend in exchange for offering our clients a first look at their technology. Some experiments work, others don’t. But by creating a culture of experimentation, employees feel empowered to propose big ideas and run with them.

On a day-to-day basis, what can students expect to participate in?
A given day starts early and ends late. And there’s no typical day in 12. It might include a guest speaker or an informal group gathering in the morning and a creative check-in or two with the directors in the afternoon. But most of the day is spent creating, making and being inspired. The difference between working in a studio by yourself or at another school is students are surrounded by 12 peers working on the same projects, with three directors nearby, inside an agency of 600 people who students can and should use as resources and sounding boards.

As a graduate of the WK12 program, what can candidates expect in their future prospects?
While nothing is guaranteed, most graduates interested in a career in communications end up with a solid job in the business. These are some of the top agencies and clients in the world, and our graduates have a proven track record of success. For those who decide this industry isn’t for them, they’ve taken the communication, problem solving and storytelling skills they’ve learned to another arena that we’re in some ways most proud of.

W+K spans the globe over with several different regional offices. How do you align the goals and visions of W+K in a way that transcends culture?
It’s never been a secret formula. The trick is to fully adopt a new culture while importing enough of the W+K DNA. Each of the offices needs to directly reflect the energy, culture and people of that city. If not, we’re destined to fail.

What is your definition of creativity?
Apply, get in and find out.

The New York office of advertising agency Wieden + Kennedy has announced the upcoming launch of SHOP – a five-day retail event celebrating New York City’s fashion culture. Open to the public, the event will offer pieces at sample sale and full retail prices with selective discounts and an option for individual/custom orders at the discretion of each participating vendor. Scheduled to run from Thursday, June 16 through Monday, June 20, the event will feature a number of local labels including Burkman Bros., Loomstate, Nicholas K, Rogan, Saturdays NYC, Siki Im, Steven Alan and more. Any questions can be directed to @heyphilchang.

Wieden + Kennedy New York
150 Varick St., 6th Floor
New York, NY 10013
United States

From the creatives behind one of the world’s most influential creative agencies and the people that brought you Beautiful Losers, W+K Entertainment is a new spin-off from Wieden + Kennedy which focuses on the creative aspect of the whole culture of D.I.Y. The videos feature some big names in the world of art and sport with spots including Tony Hawk, Os Gemeos, Swoon, Shepard Fairey. The episodes to W+K Entertainment: D.I.Y. America can be seen here.

Source: SuperTouch

“W+K=MAKE is an expression of our agency culture, which has long celebrated and supported the ideas and passions of the individual. With no regard to the artists’ job title, position or seniority, this will be our most intimate creative expression ever. This is a demonstration of passion from those we are so proud to work with every day.” – John Jay

As a leading global creative agency, chances are you’ve come to experience many of W+K’s innovative and ultimately captivating campaigns. Opening its doors to the personalities at the root of their movement, the agency is launching their W+K = MAKE Global Agency Art Show. The event will bring together art from over 100 participants from within the company encompassing many parts of the globe. Contributors include people from offices in Portland, New York, London, Amsterdam, Tokyo, Shanghai and Delhi. Going further in detail, the mediums of art include craft, sculpture, music and film & animation. The sales of all art will be donated to the Room to Read charity. The opening reception takes place at the W+K headquarters in Portland, Oregon on Thursday, May 7th between 6:00 pm and 10:00 pm with music provided by DJ Safi and DJ The Perfect Cyn, two W+K Portland members. The artwork will be available for showing throughout the month of May.

W+K = MAKE Global Agency Art Show Opening Reception
Thursday, May 7th, 2009
6:00 pm – 10:00 pm
WIEDEN+KENNEDY
224 NW 13th Ave
Portland, OR 97209
p: 503.937.7407

Anybody who has made their rounds in the blogging world have more likely then not come across multiple looks of the upcoming Nike Dunk High created in association with the upcoming sophomore motion-picture from LAIKA, Coraline. LAIKA is headed by none other then Phil Knight, Nike’s well-known chairman. In a project set-up by the next generation of creative talents, W+K12 (sponsored by creative agency Wieden + Kennedy), Nike’s iconic Dunk was re-produced in a DIY aesthetic relating to the animated movie Coraline. The shoe’s upper includes a number of interesting additions and props as well as special packaging. Directed by Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas) and based on a story by Neil Gaiman, the movie’s premise involves a young girl who inadvertently stumbles into an alternate albeit it better universe with a number of twists. Given the track record of all the parties involved, this latest film should not disappoint. As mentioned, Coraline hits theaters February 6th with a chance to win 1 of a 1000 pairs following the credits.

Big shout-out to Rob Heppler and the WK12 crew for the hook-up!

The “Lao Leow” Shanghai Watch is the result of a cross-culture and cross-generation collaboration between 3 very different partners: the Shanghai Watch Company, multi-discipline creative practice Jellymon and global advertising company Wieden + Kennedy Shanghai. Together the entities have produced 5 fresh designs, adding bold silver and gold and a modern Chinese attitude to a watch that has been resurrected from the archives. Only 100 watches in each design will be produced, available in select accounts including colette in Paris, Kidrobot in New York and The Source in Shanghai.

A communication agency made famous around these circles due to their ongoing affiliation with Nike, Wieden + Kennedy’s design prowess can be seen through their work with another societal juggernaut in soft drink makers Coca-Cola. A good showcase of some of the world’s leading creative talents in an every day medium, showing that being at the top of the game never means staying stagnant.

Source: Comunicadores via Notcot

Wieden + Kennedy is an independent creative advertisement agency that is responsible for some of Nike’s biggest Ad campaigns including the Nike SB “Chalk” Campaign, the Nike “The Beginning” Lebron campaign and many more. The online magazine Honeyee has taken an opportunity to interview five people from the firm including John C. Jay (Executive Creative Director), Chris Hutchison, Driscoll Reid, Ted Yukawa, Akio Iida. Unfortunately only John C. Jay’s part is translated. You can read the interview here.