Ari Weiss Death, Obituary; Acclaimed creative advertising leader, longtime BBH and DDB executive, Ari Weiss dies following battle with cancer
After a protracted fight with cancer, Ari Weiss, a groundbreaking creative force in the advertising industry known for his bold, creative, and inventive concepts across a 25-year career, died on Friday at the age of 46.
Weiss began his career as a copywriting intern at Goodby Silverstein & Partners in San Francisco in the late 1990s, after growing up in Berkeley, California. Before rejoining GS&P, he worked at prestigious firms as 180LA, BBDO, Wieden+Kennedy, and Cliff Freeman and Partners due to his early promise.
In 2011, he joined BBH New York, where he quickly ascended to the role of Chief Creative Officer. After six years at BBH, he spent seven transformative years at DDB, serving first as North American CCO and then as global CCO. During his tenure at DDB, Weiss played a pivotal role in earning the agency its first Network of the Year award at the 2023 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity—a historic achievement in the firm’s 74-year history.
Ari Weiss’s children, Layla, Luca, and Lev, as well as his loving wife, Dara, survive him. His siblings, Adam and Ilan; his sister, Lara; his parents, Marylin and Abe; and his sisters-in-law, Ellen and Alicyn, are also grieving for him.
Below is a trailer showcasing the “Broadway the Rainbow” campaign; it will soon be updated with further highlights of Weiss’s groundbreaking commercial work. For many years to come, his innovative contributions to the industry and his reputation as a creative visionary will be honoured.
