Steve Hayden, the visionary promoting government behind a few of the most influential campaigns of the fashionable period, died on Aug. 27 on the age of 78.
Hayden started his profession as a copywriter at Basic Motors in Detroit. His profession took off at Chiat/Day within the Nineteen Eighties, the place he partnered with Lee Clow and Brent Thomas to create Apple’s now-iconic “1984” Tremendous Bowl advert. The cinematic spot, which launched the Macintosh laptop, redefined how promoting and know-how might faucet into tradition.
He later served as chairman and CEO of BBDO West, the place he introduced over and helped retain the Apple account for greater than a decade, additional solidifying his repute as a artistic pressure who might marry model storytelling with enterprise influence.
In 1994, Hayden turned vice chairman and chief artistic officer at Ogilvy, the place he oversaw the consolidation of IBM’s world enterprise, which on the time was the biggest account shift in promoting historical past. Underneath his management, the company launched IBM’s “e-business” marketing campaign, a defining effort that helped reshape the model and the class. He additionally guided award-winning work for American Specific, Kodak, Motorola, and Dove, together with the continuing “Actual Magnificence” marketing campaign.
At Ogilvy, Hayden is remembered not solely as a strategist and inventive visionary, but in addition as a mentor and collaborator. “Steve Hayden was my accomplice,” mentioned Shelly Lazarus, chairman emeritus of Ogilvy. “With out him I might by no means have been in a position to do what I used to be in a position to do. With out him, Ogilvy would by no means have had the success that it had over so a few years. Steve made it look straightforward. However there was brilliance behind each seemingly easy concept. And the way a lot enjoyable all of us had collectively. I can’t fairly imagine that he’s gone. The world is a much less good place. My gratitude for all that I obtained to share with Steve Hayden is infinite. My love for him is without end.”
Colleagues throughout the business echoed that sentiment. “The people who I look as much as all appeared as much as Steve. That’s how huge he was,” mentioned Chris Beresford-Hill, world chief artistic officer of BBDO. “Your complete BBDO neighborhood sends condolences and like to his household.”
Invoice Davaris, now co-CEO of MALKA, informed ADWEEK that he spent 18 years at Ogilvy as an government artistic director beneath Hayden.
“Yesterday, we misplaced an business big, our dearest mentor, our largest function mannequin, the funniest boss, and the kindest chief,” he shared on LinkedIn. “Steve Hayden was a real legend in our work lives—somebody who all the time made time to encourage, advocate and encourage. His contributions to the promoting world are immeasurable, some might say by no means repeatable. However what we’ll keep in mind most is his generosity. Might his reminiscence be everlasting—the mild genius whose biggest love was to make us all higher!”
Hayden’s affect stretched throughout generations of creatives. Past the campaigns that outlined his profession, his legacy endures within the folks he mentored and impressed.
Born Stephen Edward Hayden on Might 21, 1947, in St. Louis, Missouri, he was the son of an internist and an opera singer. He’s survived by his longtime accomplice Kristy Allen, his household, and family members.
