A quick anecdote: in junior high school, I used to cut out the headlines from the Weekly World News and put them on my binder for fellow students to enjoy. It was these breakthrough journalism scoops announcing that ROCKS ARE ALIVE, SPACE ALIEN POOP FOUND, AND BIGFOOT KEPT LUMBERJACK AS A LOVE SLAVE that first helped me discover my love for communicating via the written word.
Since that youthful epiphany, I’ve split my career between Chicago and Seattle, where I currently serve as Group Creative Director for Copacino & Fujikado, a fiercely independent 40-person agency whose creative department I’ve helped lead and double in size during my tenure.
I’ve worked on everything from million-dollar diaper commercials with Brian Buckley on sacred Hawaiian land to directing unpaid talent to pour Gatorade buckets over their own heads in a parking lot.
Working at agencies both big (Cramer Krasselt and Ogilvy & Mather in Chicago) and small (currently at CF) have allowed me to stretch my boundaries far beyond job title and expectation. I will always be an insight driven creator, first and foremost. It’s the only way communications can remain human-focused. And the best way to get actual humans to not hate what we do every day.
Along the way, I’ve founded multiple mentoring programs, initiatives, and even a podcast, all centered around humanity and transparency.
I’ve also found the time to get two books published by an imprint of literary giant Simon and Schuster. Together, they’ve sold 18K copies. Koko “the Talking Gorilla” even wrote a blurb for one of them.
I’ve enjoyed some nice acclaim for my ad work from Ad Age, Communication Arts, Archive, and the Clios, among others. I’m way more proud of the Koko thing, though.
I think what’s so fun about this business is that my best work is still ahead of me. And I look forward to whatever comes next.
E-mail: andrew.gall@gmail.com
Phone: (312) 523-8996
