Picky is a portmanteau of the names Pete & Micky, the agency’s founders. We considered calling ourselves “Portmanteau,” because merging two great things to become one - agency and client, creativity and commerce, art and copy - is our goal. Also because “portmanteau” is an extremely fun word to say.
Pete Harvey
Micky’s counterpart. Writer by trade. Most recently Partner & Executive Creative Director of the ad agency barrettSF.
Pete cut his teeth at Arnold Worldwide in Boston, and at Goodby, Silverstein & Partners in San Francisco before leaving to start an agency with former Goodby alums. In 2016, AdAge named Pete one of the Top 50 Creatives in the U.S. Since taking a year off to travel, Pete joined forces with Micky and has grown a full and wood-splitting beard.
Micky Coyne
Pete’s counterpart. Art director by trade. Most recently Group Creative Director of Chiat/Day Los Angeles.
After years of creating award-winning work at Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, Droga5, 72andsunny and Chiat/Day, Micky went solo in 2016. Since then, his pursuits have run the gamut, from crafting Super Bowl commercials with brands like Toyota to working directly with CMO’s in launching space age technologies like Hyperloop. Micky looks like Roger Federer and will sign your tennis visor for $20.
Waste Not, Want Not
You shouldn’t pay for bloat. Right? A bloated team. Extra meetings. Fancy bagels at the 9am. Hand holding. Six degrees of separation between decision makers and creators. Blowout craft service tables. And dog and pony shows. (Though dogs are awesome. Let’s be clear on that.)
Picky leaves as much money as possible in production and media budgets so the work the world sees is better. That’s it. That’s our big idea. Streamline it all.
The Point Is To Stay Small
Small is cheap. That’s good for you. That’s good for us. When a project grows or goes into production, we grow to fit it. With a freelance-style model that lets us keep costs down and talent up.
The Team
Below are some of the producers, designers, strategists and creatives that keep Picky picky.
Jan O'Malley
Executive Producer
Arguably the loveliest person anyone has worked with - in any business - Jan O’Malley is the cream of the production crop. She brings with her decades of integrated production experience at iconic agencies like Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, where Pete & Micky first met lovely Jan. This is who you want going to the mat with you on a hard job.
Sarah Eade Bengard
Sr. Copywriter
After studying creative writing, Sarah Bengard moved to the bay area where she has now been a copywriter for 6 years. Clients she's worked with include Airbnb, Google, Audi, Alaska Airlines, AAA, and StubHub. Outside of work, she likes to spend time with a good book or a handful of friends outdoors. But no matter what she's doing, you can always count on her for music recos.
Taylor Boudreaux
Sr. Designer
Taylor Boudreaux is a graphic designer from New Orleans, LA with 9 years of experience working in art direction, identity, book design, and web design. He has worked on various projects for clients such as Netflix, The Criterion Collection, United States Postal Service, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, Penguin Random House, DC Comics/Vertigo, Adidas, Pepsi, Yahoo!, Nicktoons, Accenture Interactive, Charles Schwabb, and Grand Hustle Records.
Doug Harvey
Copywriter
Doug Harvey has been a copywriter with Picky since 2018. His work has appeared on billboards, mobile, digital and print ads across the San Francisco Bay Area. He’s also an award-winning playwright, and, amazingly, was a birthday party clown for Micky’s daughter once. His one-man sci-fi theatre show, A Time Traveler’s Guide to the Present, makes its international debut at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 2020.
Mercedes McCreight
Studio Designer
Mercedes is the polish. With client, agency and vendor experience creating production-ready graphic mechanical files and design directives, she knows the ins and outs of studio design. This has led to her being trusted by brands like Nike, Adidas, Columbia Sportswear, Reebok and Playstation. Oh, and Picky. So, Nike and Picky. Both household names. Her specialties are pop-up activations, grand format printing, environmental, event, retail design and apparel production.