Rescued a cat on the day Alex Haley died, named him Kunta Kitty • MIKE WOOLF WRITES
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Rescued a cat on the day Alex Haley died, named him Kunta Kitty • MIKE WOOLF WRITES •
BIO
Mike has been at the warm, beating heart of the Austin advertising scene for over 25 years.
During a seven-year run at GSD&M as a writer/creative director, he helped launch Southwest Airlines’ iconic “Wanna Get Away?” campaign, had Lyle Lovett star in a Texas Tourism spot, and wrote more than 80 commercials for brands including Macaroni Grill, the Texas Lottery, Southwest Airlines, AT&T, Gumout, and The Dixie Chicks.
In 2000, he left the agency world to direct and founded Beef and Pie Productions. But he never stopped writing. As a freelancer, he wrote the Whataburger campaign that helped Mc-J win the account—and that work ran for years. With longtime partners at Austin Beerworks, he helped create the legendary 99-Pack campaign and recently developed the drink and brand High Five THC Seltzers from scratch.
Many of the commercials Mike directs are written by him—sometimes in tandem with an agency, sometimes directly with the client. Directing has made him a better writer: one who understands budgets, logistics, and what’s actually attainable on screen. That comes from a career’s worth of real-world experience.
While documentaries don’t come with a “writer” credit, Mike has ‘guided’ seven short docs and a feature to SXSW. He also created an entire Austin-history documentary website—short films, deep stories, and living archives—at 23rdStreetMural.com.
All of this creation and collaboration makes Mike an excellent writer for hire, whatever you’re building.
He’s won just about every award in the business—except a Clio, for some reason. Don’t hold this against him. The judges that year!!!
Pithy Quotes
“Mike writes like a director and directs like a writer. ”
“I have never had more fun writing than when it’s with Mike. He doesn’t just bring laughs, he churns out killer copy that makes an impact for brands.”
“Mike’s not just a pinch hitter he’s a pinch partner. He nestles in like he’s been part of your company all along.
Part of it is posture: Mike has an open, assuring presence. He’s universally likable. But it’s also his speed to value. He’s inquisitive, self-driven, and thoughtful – which gets him to quality, fast. And while Mike can dream up big, scalable ideas, he can also write, direct, shoot, edit, and rattle off obscure facts about the Rolling Stones.
Great to have around.”
“Mike always produced the work that you wish you had done. In actuality, he just made tough accounts look better than they were. Mike was also one of those employees that was the tip of the spear of a fun culture. Always fun, energetic and positive, he is famously known for repeating the phrase, “It’s all good.” He’s one of those guys I like to call “A good human being.”
Clients
From national brands to local legends. Follow the links for more TV, radio and video surprises.
Alamo Drafthouse / American Airlines / AT&T / Austin Beerworks / Beef and Pie Productions / Blix Electric Bikes / The Brown Building / Budweiser / Bud Lite / Chili’s / Clay Imports / The Dixie Chicks / Food Network / Freebirds / Frost Bank / Gardenburger / Grand Marnier / HomeSlice Pizza / Johnny Carino’s / Kinko’s / Kiolbassa Sausages / Krakatoa Hot Chips / Lennox / Livestrong / Macaroni Grill / NASCAR / Norwegian Cruise Lines / 7-Eleven / Pennzoil / Seattle Monorail / Schlotzsky’s / Shiner Beer / Southern Comfort / Southwest Airlines / Stripes / Taco Cabana / Texadelphia / Washington Post / Wheatsville Coop / Whataburger / Whole Foods / Woolf and Woolf Optometry