Note from Jennifer Macfarlane

Hello, I’m was so saddened when I heard the news about Ben. I worked with Ben in the late 1990’s. Ben and I were creative partners at Ogilvy, in fact I am pretty sure that I was one of his first official art director partners. What always struck me was his never ending optimism and willingness to scrap ideas and start over. We would walk out of a meeting with our creative directors where work didn’t fly and there was never even so much as a curse. It was always a polite comment, “let me know when you want to keep working on this.” Said with only a slightly pained smile, almost trying to very hard to seem like a jaded creative. He was such a thoughtful person, he would often talk fondly of his mother and family. I got the sense that there was a lot of warmth there.

We lost touch over the years, I left advertising and saw Ben once after I had my second child when he was in Portland, OR for work. I was instantly reminded of his effervescent optimism as I droned on and on about taking care of a newborn. He listened to every word and laughed along with empathy. I appreciate the years we were partners and I believe he must have had an equally positive impact on others he worked with as his career blossomed. No doubt his upbeat positivity took him far in his career as he made more and more loyal friends and colleagues. I am grateful that I got to experience those early years of Ben’s career as his partner. The air of optimism he carried into every room made every situation better. The type of environment he created was unique and will be fondly remembered. I am so sorry for your loss.

Sincerely, Jen Macfarlane