#CircusForum: barrettSF
After a two week hiatus, Forum is back! Pete Harvey, Creative Director and Partner at barrettSF will be in the Theatre at 1:30PM on Friday, May 23rd to share his work, story, and advice for Circus students
Pete Harvey is a San Francisco-based writer, creative director and partner at barrettSF.
After a humble start as assistant to the assistant of an assistant account manager at Publicis & Hal Riney, Pete eschewed the traditional ad school route and stayed after hours to piece together his portfolio in the bowels of the agency’s creative department. He was hired as a copywriter six months later.
Pete ventured to Los Angeles after Riney, helping launch Arnold Worldwide’s branded entertainment division with a pair of Riney alums. Among other projects, they developed a series of music videos for Southern Comfort to help bands get back on their feet after the hurricane, and a documentary on the modern history of the Jack Daniel’s drinker.
With his base tan in a good place, Pete shipped off to Arnold headquarters in Boston and began writing award-winning work for the truth campaign, McDonald’s, Volvo, Carnival Cruise Lines and TAG Body Spray. His McDonald’s Filet-o-Fish commercial exploded virally – generating a Kanye West remix, appearances on Rachel Ray and a revenue-generating toy at Wal-Mart – while his work on the truth campaign won him recognition from every major award show, including Cannes, D&AD, the Art Director’s Club, London International, the Andys and the One Show.
Eventually, the allure of San Francisco, family and great work led Pete to Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, where he cut his teeth on the agency’s iconic “got milk?” campaign, as well as the Specialized, HP, Nintendo and NBA brands. He helped launch a rebrand of the Sonic Drive-In business for the first time in a decade, and served as creative director on the digital, print, radio and non-traditional aspects of the account. Recently, his Christmas Day spot for the NBA earned 7 million views in under a week and is already the second most watched piece of content on the NBA’s YouTube page ever.
In early 2013, Pete joined a pair of friends from Goodby, Silverstein to help launch barrettSF.
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