Ari Weiss, Lauded Global Creative Leader, Dies at 46
Ari Weiss, the acclaimed creative who worked at the likes of DDB, BBDO, BBH, and Wieden+Kennedy before setting up his own shop, has died after a long battle with cancer.
Ari died just before 11pm Eastern Time on Valentine’s Day. He was 46, and lived in New York with his wife, Dara, and their three children, Layla, Luca, and Lev.
Born in 1978, Ari started out in the industry as an intern at Goodby, Silverstein & Partners in the ‘90s, getting his first proper job at Cliff Freeman & Partners in 2000. He moved to BBDO in 2002, where he was creative director for four years. From there, he spent time at Wieden+Kennedy, 180LA, and returned to Goodby, Silverstein & Partners. He became chief creative officer at BBH New York in 2011, aged just 33, and stayed in that role for six years.
He was best known for his work at DDB, where he was North American CCO from 2017 to 2019, and global CCO until he left at the start of 2024 to set up his own shop, Quality Experience.
He told LBB last year the dream of running his own agency started in 1997, “when I was an intern at Goodby, Silverstein & Partners. Each morning I would start my day by getting Rich [Silverstein] a coffee and a blueberry muffin from the deli down the street.
“Armed with my coffee and muffin, I would walk through the agency wide-eyed and in total disbelief that a culture like this could exist; that it was possible to find a profession that could be this much fun. I wanted to be a part of a profession like that. I wanted to create a culture like that. I just needed 25-plus years of experience first.”
Just last month, he told LBB his ambition for the start-up agency “is kind of world domination, I guess.”
He was founder and creative chairman at QX, which he founded alongside Cristina Reina, Dan Gonda, and Colleen Leddy.
“His unwavering passion, ambition and relentless pursuit of excellence will continue to inspire, leaving a lasting impact on all of us and on the industry,” they said of Ari’s passing.
“While we are grieving his loss, we are so grateful to have been able to go on the journey of realising his dream of building Quality Experience together over the past year.
“Most of all, we extend our deepest condolences to Ari’s family–to his wife Dara, and their three, beautiful children, Layla, Luca and Lev. Ari will forever live on through those lucky enough to have known and loved him.”
Ari’s passion was to create value for brands, they said. “He held himself accountable to a higher standard, always asking – why find your audience when your audience will find you.”
Cristina, Quality Experience’s CCO, added, “Ari Weiss was a force. A mentor, a friend, and the kind of person who made everyone around him better. It’s hard to accept that he’s no longer here. He is already so deeply missed, but his legacy will live on in all of us who had the privilege of knowing him, learning from him, and being challenged and inspired by him.”
Quality Experience’s first work for Tonal, ‘Stop Working Out in the Past’, set the stage for the agency - a highly-crafted, two-minute horror film lamenting the terror of old school work-outs.
At DDB, Ari was responsible for ‘Broadway the Rainbow’ for Skittles, a Super Bowl alternative that was a one-night Broadway show starring Michael C. Hall and written by playwright and Pulitzer finalist Will Eno. His body of work also includes Coors’ ‘Chillboards’, Skittles’ ‘Apologize the Rainbow’, and McDonald’s’ ‘The Flip’.
Ari led DDB to become Cannes Network of the Year in 2023 - the first time the agency had achieved the honour in its 75-year history. During his tenure, DDB was also named global network of the year at the Effies and The One Show. In 2024, Ari was recognised at Cannes as the most awarded creative in the world.
Maria Vélez, DoorDash’s senior managing director and Ari’s former colleague at DDB, wrote, “I struggle to find the words to express how empty it already feels. It hurts even to imagine that I won’t be able to pick up the phone and ask for your thoughts and free advice.
“You were always there to make me see beyond the obvious and never let me stay in my comfort zone. You gave me some of the best moments in my career, and I will do everything I can to honor your memory and not disappoint you.”
The One Club said, “Beyond the countless accolades he has won for his phenomenal work over the years, we will best remember him as a selfless friend of The Club, always willing to get involved, whether it was sitting on a jury, speaking at an event, or just sharing his thoughts on how creativity can be a guiding force for good in this world.”
Ogilvy joined those expressing their condolences, calling Ari a “true giant whose creative spirit illuminated our industry. He understood the power of ideas to move the world forward, leaving behind a legacy of brilliant work and inspired leadership.”
Joel Simon, the CEO of JSM Music, wrote of his friend, "Ari was simply one of the most genuine, kind, loving, talented people I've ever met. Unique. Caring. Brilliant. Passionate. Thoughtful. Funny. So fucking funny. New level brilliance and creativity. Professionally, he rose to the highest of heights in my industry more quickly than anyone else at such a young age. Personally, he was the best friend you could have. He always had time for me, and I for him. Amazing father and husband.
"I always found it fascinating that everything he wrote to me and on social was always in lower case. For so long I couldn't understand why he wrote like that until I realized that it made me lean in and focus on his messages and thoughts even more as a result. He wrote as he spoke. He wrote how he lived.
"As the inevitable approached, his incredible wife, Dara, mentioned to me that she and Ari spoke of asking me to do an arrangement of their favorite song, 'Can't Help Falling in Love.' She told me today that they listened to it over and over again and how much he loved it. That will forever be their song.
"Quite simply, Ari was the best of all of us. He will be so greatly missed by all who loved him."
Vale Ari Weiss. 1978-2025.
LBB has also created a collection of some of Ari's most renowned work here.
