Fresh Brothers began in 2009 as a mom and pop in Manhattan Beach. Mike crafted the brand strategy (fresh thinking, fresh pizza) and, just as importantly, the brand’s credo: If it isn’t fresh, we don’t do it. No couponing, no free liters of soda, none of the usual stuff pizza chains are so fond of. Instead of trying to portray fun– an approach done to death by the big boys in the category– we set out to make the advertising itself fun.
Over the course of nine years, Pitts+Pitts created ads, menus, their website, pizza boxes, in-store collateral, gifs and videos, all of it working together to build and sustain the brand image. They’re now up to 14 stores, with more in the oven.
Kidz was a second-hand store specializing in high-end children’s fashion, a boutique that just happened to sell beautiful, gently-used kid’s clothing. Pitts+Pitts named them, designed their logo, developed the tagline, created advertising and the full complement of social media, including their website.
For decades, there’s been an achievement gap between inner city schools and schools in privileged neighborhoods. Synergy has set out to close that gap– an impossible task, according to too many. The poster here celebrates the class of 2015, 90% of whom were accepted into colleges and universities, including Yale, Berkeley, UCLA and USC. Synergy logo designed by Ann Pitts.
Music Rhapsody is a leader in early childhood music education, with a reputation that extends far beyond our shores. All of our kids attended; one of them wound up playing at Carnegie Hall with the Mira Costa High School Orchestra. Beginning in 2007, Mike created advertising and eblasts, along with brochures, posters and collateral.
Grow began as a small produce market in Manhattan Beach. In 2008, we began handling their business (the first ad we produced is on the left) until 2012, and were hired on again in 2015. Projects have included web design, postcards, door hangers and social media. And Grow isn’t so small anymore.
Grades of Green develops environmental programs that kids can get excited about, and helps schools put them into gear. The idea: To create tomorrow's leaders, today. Currently, they’re in 650-plus schools in 47 states and 20 countries, and growing every day. Above are several pieces from their 2017 Annual Appeal.
Pitts+Pitts began working for MBEF in 2005. In just four years, donations more than doubled. More importantly, P+P was able to help MBEF go from a little-known, somewhat elitist organization to a broad-based advocate for better schools, and a paragon for other education foundations. As Executive Director Susan Warshaw noted, “The Foundation owes a large part of its success to the voice and identity you gave it through your years of work. The community and especially the children are indebted to you.”
Since then, Pitts+Pitts has gone on to create brand-centric materials for education foundations in Del Mar, Irvine, Palos Verdes, Torrance, Las Virgenes, Moorpark and, once again, Manhattan Beach. Samples available upon request.
MBEF and IPSF logos designed by Ann Pitts. PEF and The Foundation logos designed by Mike Pitts.
Soccer City was an indoor facility specializing in futsal, a form of soccer not widely known in the US. They were having a hard time getting their basic story across, let alone the sheer kick of the game. The first poster was placed in a popular sports bar., the second on site, and the third in local car washes. They were acquired by the LA Galaxy not long after this work broke.
Manhattan Bread & Bagel has been a local favorite for ages. Mike wrote and designed these ads for them in in 2010, and they've run every Thanksgiving since. Which, we suppose, makes Pitts+Pitts a local favorite as well.
Before Pitts+Pitts took on local clients, they spent years as creative consultants to major ad agencies in the Southland and around the country. This is Mike’s contribution to one of the longest running (and best-loved) campaigns ever, created for TBWA/Chiat/Day. Art Director: Sherry Datwyler Dargert.
JB Construction builds restaurants, and does a very tasty job of it. On top of that, they're genuinely good, honest, hardworking people. Their goal was to become more of a statewide presence. The first piece is the cover of their presentation packet. The final two are eblasts.
The Vintage Wood Floor Company puts history at your feet: Wood reclaimed from old barns, European manor houses and, in some cases, river bottoms, where logs from trees now scarce have been waiting for decades for someone to put them to use. Agency: Ryder Communications. Art Director: Julian Ryder.
Rainier refills bottles. That's really about all we wanted to get across here. That, and paying homage to a classic Rainier spot from way back ago. Agency: Della Femina McNamee & Partners. Art director: Betsy Nathane.
Mike freelanced extensively on Toyota, helping launch several model years of Camry and contributing to Corolla, Tercel and Rav4. Mostly television, of course. But every so often, a print assignment would come along. Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi. Art Director: Eric Gardner.
Mike has also worked on Suzuki, Nissan, Kia (very briefly) and Daewoo (even more briefly). While at Della Femina, he worked on Isuzu national, and was the creative supervisor on Isuzu regional.
Suzuki was one of Mike’s first freelance accounts after leaving DDB. He worked on it off and on for close to a decade, primarily in print and outdoor. He also created dealer handbooks and walkarounds. Just about everything except the owners manual. Art Director: Art Weeks.
Stonestown Galleria had a great tenant list, anchored by Nordstrom (which was then just coming into its own). We set out to give it an attitude to match. The tagline ran for five years. Agency: Janis Brown & Associates. Art Director: Scott Briedenthal.
Mike has extensive experience with mall advertising, including Seatlle's Pacific Place, Portland's Clackamas Town Center, Palo Alto's Stanford Center, Glendale Galleria, Manhattan Beach's Manhattan Village, the Downtown Manhattan Beach Merchants Associations, Plaza El Segundo, the El Segundo Merchants Associations, San Diego's Fashion Valley, Palm Springs' Desert Passage, Valencia Town Center and Chicago's 900 North Michigan.
As a smoker, these were hard for me to write. As a former smoker, with kids of my own, it's nice to have written them. “Birthday” was just gross enough to get through to kids. “Vending Machine” helped rid California of those infernal machines. “Convention” was an idea that director Jay Silverman wanted to shoot for his reel. Agency: Asher/Gould. Art director: Art Weeks.
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, Mike was a copywriter, ACD and, eventually, Group CD at Ogilvy New York.
The Duracell campaign, created with Paul Rubenstein, won the business for the agency, and ran 10-plus years. (“Chariots” team: Doug Feinstein, CW. Terry O’Leary, AD, Mike Pitts, CD).
Ogilvy originally hired Mike as one of 87 key writers on TWA. He worked on it for close to 7 years, until Carl Icahn fired us and augered it in. ADs: Herb Jager, RIP (“Kids,” “Unseats”), Gary Shapiro (“Old Flame”), Paul Rubenstein (“Welcome”).
Hardee’s was a rescue mission: They’d proliferated their menu so badly, people were starting to forget they were basically a burger joint. The fish came later. Paul Rubenstein, AD.
Open Pit was maybe the first time a lot of people were led to understand that BBQ meant something other than burgers on the grill. Herb Jager, AD.
Ryder did more than rent moving vans and sponsor golf. They were a huge transportation and logistics operation, with what, in its day, was a rather unique perspective. Paul Rubenstein, AD.
The Vietnam Vets ad was from 1984, the opening salvo in a two-year campaign to raise the money to build a memorial to New York veterans of the Vietnam era. The memorial now stands in lower Manhattan. Charlie Carpenter, AD.
Publix is Florida's premier grocery chain. Their store brands aren't half bad, either. Agency: West. Art Director: Ann Pitts.
Bughoundz was a company dedicated to keeping the national bedbug invasion at bay. Mike named the company, designed the logo and created all communications, from ads to website to street fair displays and posters.