One of the many talents of Paul Tilley, DDB, Chicago's managing director of creative, was his encyclopedic knowledge of commercials. "[He was] always challenging me to name a piece of music or the director of any given spot, like a quiz show," recalls DDB, Chicago head of production Diane Jackson of her late colleague.

Her words are among the tributes that have flooded in since the ad industry was hit by the news that Tilley had passed away on February 23rd, in what local authorities ruled a suicide. He was 40 years old and leaves a wife and two daughters.

In praising Tilley's "immense spirit and passion", Jackson says he played a part in every aspect of the agency, which will make him all the more missed. "He worked hard to create opportunity for his teams, recognizing young talents and creating an environment for them to thrive," she tells Boards. "He was an ideas guy and empowered free creative thinking beyond the expected. He had a tremendous knowledge of our clients' business beyond advertising. He was a big picture strategic thinker and yet saw the value in the details."

A Texan native who went on to study journalism, Tilley started his ad career as a copywriter for J. Walter Thompson in Chicago working on Kraft, Oscar Mayer and McDonnell-Douglas. He joined then-DDB Needham in 1997 as associate creative director working on GM and Budweiser, rising most recently in September 2006 to the role of chief creative officer.

He was credited with overseeing the "Dude, You're Gettin' a Dell" campaign that raised the PC manufacturer from fourth to top place in home PC sales in the US, and in 2004, was named the creative head on McDonald's, helping to develop the "I'm lovin' it" campaign. Tilley and his team not only helped McDonald's reach its highest sales in 30 years, but also brought the fast food giant its first-ever digital Cannes Lions.

The news sparked a wave of industry soul searching about the stresses on senior advertising executives, as well as a wave of sympathy for family and friends. Perhaps best reflecting the sentiments shared by so many, DDB president Rick Carpenter wrote in a memo to staff shortly after the news broke, "Paul was a mentor to many, a friend to all. His ability to lead, inspire, and, yes, entertain, will be so greatly missed."

DDB Chicago http://www.ddb.com