Highdive co-owner and managing partner Louis Slotkin died on March 31 after a battle with colon cancer. He was 51.
A LinkedIn post from the agency remembered Slotkin and what he meant to the agency and the industry.
Slotkin had a 25-plus year marketing career, working at agencies including Ogilvy Paris and New York, Leo Burnett, Cramer-Krasselt and Young & Rubicam, working with clients including IBM, Miller Brewing, KraftHeinz, Unilever, CareerBuilder, Edward Jones, 5/3 Bank, Invesco, Hyatt + Sealy.
He described himself in his LinkedIn profile as “the son of a meat man dad and a hippie librarian mom,” and knew that he wanted to live in Paris. “After selling perfume in French malls and painting hotel rooms in Paris to earn my keep (& fund the obvious baguette+cheese habit), I fell in love with marketing at Ogilvy.”
Slotkin helped build Chicago independent agency Highdive after joining in 2017. As managing partner, he helped lead the agency to be named Adweek’s Breakthrough Agency of the Year in 2020. That year, Highdive created a memorable Super Bowl ad for Jeep, which featured Bill Murray reprising his role from Groundhog Day, that went on to receive an Emmy nomination, and the game’s Rocket Mortgage commercial with Jason Momoa.
Highdive asked in the memorial that those who want to make a donation in Slotkin’s memory do so at Glencoe Public Library in Glencoe, Illinois.
“We are overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support, which is a testament to all the lives Louis touched,” said the Highdive memorial.