My Storied History

Here’s the headlines:

I live in Pittsburgh. I am an avid cat lady (we don’t say crazy in my house). I love to cruise. I’m trying to teach myself how to make chainmail jewelry. And I may try to learn how to paint. Or I might just sit in front of the TV and hunker down for a really bad (yet oh so good) reality tv show.

The rest of the story:

Even though I love words, I always stumble when writing about myself. So, let’s start with the fact that I’ve been in advertising for decades. I’ll bet I’ve been in this business longer than most people reading this. But I love it. And I can’t imagine myself doing anything else. You see, I came up in the heyday of it all. When executives would head out to three- to five-martini lunches, smoking pack after pack of Kool or Pall Malls (depending on whether they wanted menthol or not).

So, there I was, a secretary for the creative department (and yes, this is my real story. I’m not borrowing it from Peggy Olson, even though it sounds almost identical). Typing scripts, taking calls, and having crazy creatives jump on my desk telling me to type faster was a dream job. I didn’t think it could get any better until that day when my boss was heading out to one of those martini lunches. On his way out, he said, “You seem funny. Why don’t you write an ad for this client?”

Back then, I had no fear. I had no idea one would get harsh critiques in this business daily. So, I wrote a script. It got produced. And six months later, I was a junior copywriter. From there, I got promoted until I landed where I am now — a VP, Creative Director. In my heart, I’m still that junior copywriter. I love working with a partner and hearing their ideas, bouncing thoughts off one another working to make them a collaborative, cohesive idea. I’ve written everything from emails, banners, and direct mail to radio, TV, and online video, as well as naming projects, romance copy for packaging, and more. I’ve created ads for banks, hospitals, energy companies, arts organizations, and several CPG companies.

For the last decade or so, I’ve been a Creative Director immersed in the digital and social space, leading an incredible team in the pet space, which is perfect for me since I’m an avid cat mom (we don’t use the word crazy)? Whew. I’ve said a lot as a person who doesn’t like to talk about themselves. So, let’s chat if you want to talk about the good old days of advertising or any pet-related things or why naming projects are the worst (and sometimes the most fun you’ll ever have in this business).

If you’ve made it this far into my story, congratulations. After all, I had an account person tell me many moons ago that “no one reads copy.” But I’m a writer, so I just can’t help myself.