Ben Cohen
Co-Founder at Ben & Jerry's
Co-founding Ben & Jerry's and pioneering purpose-driven, values-based brand marketing that has influenced how advertisers approach social advocacy and consumer trust-building.
Last updated Jun 11, 2026 by ATDb automated enrichment
Ben Cohen is best known as the co-founder of Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream, the iconic Vermont-based brand he launched with Jerry Greenfield in 1978. While not a traditional AdTech figure, Cohen has been a pioneering voice in purpose-driven brand marketing, demonstrating that companies can build powerful consumer loyalty through values-based messaging, social justice advocacy, and cause-related advertising campaigns. His approach to brand building has influenced how modern marketers and advertisers think about authenticity and corporate responsibility in consumer communications. Cohen's marketing philosophy — rooted in progressive social causes, environmental activism, and community engagement — predates but anticipates many of the trends now central to modern brand advertising, including purpose-driven campaigns, social media activism, and values-aligned audience targeting. Ben & Jerry's has been widely studied as a case study in brand differentiation through mission-driven storytelling rather than conventional advertising spend. After Unilever acquired Ben & Jerry's in 2000, Cohen remained involved in advocacy work and co-founded Stamp Stampede, a campaign using currency stamping to advocate for campaign finance reform. His work continues to influence how brands navigate political and social messaging in advertising, a topic of growing relevance in the AdTech and programmatic advertising ecosystem.
Co-Founder & CEO
Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc. (1978-2000)
Co-Founder
Stamp Stampede (2012-present)
- Attended Colgate University (did not complete degree)
- Ice Cream Making Correspondence Course, Penn State University
- Co-founded Ben & Jerry's in 1978, growing it into a globally recognized brand sold to Unilever for $326 million in 2000
- Pioneered the concept of linked prosperity and values-led brand marketing decades before it became mainstream in advertising
- Co-founded Stamp Stampede to advocate for campaign finance reform through grassroots brand activism
- Ben & Jerry's recognized as one of the most purpose-driven brands in advertising history, widely used as a business school case study
- Ben & Jerry's Double-Dip: How to Run a Values-Led Business and Make Money Too (co-authored with Jerry Greenfield, 1997)