About

My name is Michael Kirby.
I call myself a Creative Mercenary.
What that means is:
I can write copy for any media, including editorial.
I create killer concepts, either solo or as part of a team.
I can take a strategy, assemble a team, develop a comprehensive creative platform, present it to decision-makers, and shepherd everything through production.
If there is no strategy, I am adept at facilitating a complete brand analysis with stakeholders and producing strategic directions that can be implemented (see previous sentence).
I can pitch new business or save existing ones.
I can also cook a mean beef bourguignon.
At one time, I served as Creative Director, writer, and/or producer for Lois/EJL, Grey/LA, Tracy-Locke/LA, Kresser Craig/LA, The Richard’s Group, and other major names.
Today, I work for some amazing agencies and directly with farsighted businesses.
If you're in need of any of the above, we need to talk.

From A to Z, I've worked on nearly every category of products and services, including these, and even more, wonderful clients: ACLU • Affordable Housing Development Corporation • Altametrics • American Wine Club • Amnesty International • ARCO • AT&T Wireless • Bakersfield College • Bennigan’s/Steak & Ale Restaurants • BEKO Appliances • Beshoff Motor Cars • BioTouch • Black Oak Casino • Breakthrough Coaching • California Almond Board • California Table Grapes • California Walnut Commission • Carl’s Jr. Restaurants • CCIM Education Foundation • Central California Blood Center • Chukchansi Casino • City of Beverly Hills • Coldwell Banker Real Estate • Colliers Tingey Commercial Real Estate • Communities of Color New Haven • Community Health Network of Connecticut • Community Medical Centers • Community West Bank • Comstock Business Magazine • Courtyard Financial • Christian Leadership Foundation • Crum & Forster Insurance • Declare Yourself • Delta College • Disneyland Hotel • Disney Resorts • Doritos • Edmonds Jewelers • Educational Employees Credit Union • El Torrito Restaurants • Entertainment Industry Foundation • First American Title Company Mortuary • Festival of Children • Florestone Products • Fogg Maxwell & Lanier Eye Care • Foster Farms • Free Press • Fresno Art Museum • Fresno Catholic Schools • Fresno County Workforce Investment Board • Fresno First Bank • Fresno Heart & Surgical Hospital • Fukui Mortuary • Green Light Auto Parts • Gottschalks Department Stores • Gusmer Enterprises • Highway One Discovery Route • Hong Kong Tourist Board • International Center for Water Technology • Inspire Health Medical Group • Institute of Technology • Jaguar Land Rover Los Angeles • John’s Pizza • Johnsey Insurance • Kendall Jackson Wine • Kenwood Audio • K Hovnanian Homes • Kia Motor cars • Kitty Crystals Cat Litter • KVPT Public Television • Kwikset Locks • LA Weight Loss • Lender’s First Choice • Lenmar Batteries • Lennox Heating & Air Conditioning • LifeWest Chiropractic College • Maglite Flashlights • Mazzei Flying Services • McMillan IT Engineering • MediaOne Cable Television • MedicAlert • Mennonite Insurance • Mercedes Benz of Fresno • Mercedes Benz of Sacramento • Merced County Office of Education • Money Magazine • Mono Wind Casino • Monterey Ag Resources • Monterey Peninsula College • Morro Bay Tourism • Muse Airline • National Endowment for Consumer • National Kidney Foundation • One By One Leadership • Orange County Human Relations Council • Oshman’s Sporting Goods • Overhead Door Corp. • Oxfam • Palace Casino • Pat Tillman Foundation • Pearl River Pianos • People For The American Way • Pilgrim’s Pride Chicken • Polycomp • Port of Long Beach • The Preserve at Millerton Lake • Price Pfister Faucets • Quiring Medical • Raley’s Grocery Stores • Registry Hotels • Rio Resort/Las Vegas • Riverside Landscape • Roman Meal Bread • Sacramento Area Commerce & Trade Organization • Safeway Grocery Stores • Salvation Army • San Joaquin Delta College • San Joaquin Valley Town Hall • College • Santa Clara County Wellness • Shoe Pavilion • Sony ES • Southern California Edison • Southern California Gas Company • State Center Community College District • Surfer’s Endowment for the Arts Education • Susan G. Komen 3-Day For The Cure • Table Mountain Casino • Taco Bell • Telebrand Acne Dots • Texas Utilities • The Bakersfield Californian • The Dallas Morning News • The Dallas Times Herald • Torosian & Walter CPAs • Travelodge • United Way of Southern California • University of California/Merced • USBX • USWest (Yellow Pages & Video-On-Demand • Valley Christian Center • Valley Yellow Pages • Warner Company Jewelers • Washington Coalition to Reduce Underage Drinking • Wathen Castanos Home Builders • Weimar Institute • Wendy’s • West Coast Men’s Center • West Hills College • Whole Foods • Wilson Homes • Winston Tire • Wok Chinese Restaurants • Yahoo Personals • Zale Jewelry Stores

Contact

If you want to connect, you could use this form to email me. Or, you could call 818-468-2448.

© 2025 Michael Kirby Creative Mercenary

Central California Blood Center
On average, people donate blood about 1.5 times a year. The CCBC realized they could reduce shortages just by asking their base to make just one additional donation. From there, it was just a matter of using every trick to get into the donor target's consciousness. And squeeze them for every drop.

CCBC "One More Time"

San Joaquin Valley Town Hall Rebranding Campaign
For 87 years, the non-profit San Joaquin Valley Town Hall has brought nationally and internationally renowned, thought-provoking speakers to Fresno. With each passing year, their core audience have been growing older. For my team, the job was to expand SJVTH's appeal to a younger target demographic and incentivize early full-season subscription commitments through a total rebranding and brand-spanking new website.

Jaguar Land Rover Los Angeles Rebrand
For years, JLRLA resided in a small showroom on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles, just down the street from the Whisky A Go-Go. Along comes a new owner and with it, a huge new location nearby. JLRLA's agency called on me and my Mercenaries to separate the dealership from not just other luxury car brands, but also the 15 other Land Rover stores in Southern California. The campaign was built around defining how Land Rover Los Angeles as a one-of-kind, hot brand for LA luxury vehicle buyers who know what they want and want it now.
And we gave them a snazzy logo.

Inspire Health Medical Group
You’d think a group of physicians who teach and mentor the next generation of doctors and pioneer cutting-edge research would have a more appropriate name than ‘Central California Faculty Medical Group.’ Once my merry band of mercenaries was done, we had developed over one hundred name options, then vetted the finalists through deep-dive trademark and URL searches. Finally, to make everything reflect their new name and positioning, we gave Inspire Health Medical Group a total rebranding, including a new website.

Furry Republic
A family-owned and operated dog treat company thought it would be fun if dogs ran the world.
We took it a big step further.

Beko Appliance
Although it is a leading brand in Europe, Beko had been having a difficult time breaking into the U.S. appliance market. They gave their agency one requirement: do not change the global 'Live like a Pro' positioning line that was rooted in their sponsorship of the FC Barcelona soccer team.
When I took the call, I said, "okay: Turkish brand, Spanish spokes-team, odd theme line. No problem."

Spark!
Spark! is a Fresno-based organization that seeks to convince potential supporters that an arts education is vitally important for creating a more prosperous community. This multi-tier campaign was created to change the perception of how investment in this overlooked educational component can help inspire future entrepreneurs.

Advocacy
Selling a product starts with identifying the problem it solves. Selling a cause is all about offering a chance to become part of a problem's solution. I’ve found that a wonderful way to achieve a healthy balance between the world of commerce and the rest of the world is to contribute my skills to deserving causes. To that end, I’ve answered the call whenever the need has arisen, including for these honorable organizations:

ACLU / Affordable / Housing Development Corporation / Amnesty International / American Overseas Medical Relief / Amnesty International / Community Health Network of Connecticut / Communities of Color New Haven / Christian Leadership Foundation / Narman Lear's Declare Yourself / Entertainment Industry / Festival of Children Foundation / Foundation / Free Press / National Endowment for Financial Education / National Kidney Foundation / Pat Tillman Foundation / Oxfam International / Pat Tillman Foundation / People For The American Way / National Consumer Law Center/ One By One Leadership / Orange County Human Relations Council / Surfer’s Endowment for the Arts / Salvation Army / Susan G Komen 3-Day For The Cure / United Way of Southern California / Washington Coalition To Reduce Underage Drinking, to name a few.

Norman Lear formed the advocacy organization Declare Yourself to energize the traditionally apathetic 18-29-year-old vote. David LaChapelle was hired to shoot some incredible images for the "You Can Only Silence Yourself" print campaign and TV. Working with Lear was a great experience. Partnering with LaChapelle for these spots was a revelation. Two legendary geniuses on one project; doesn’t get much better than that.

For Oxfam’s Make Trade Fair campaign, we asked photographer Greg Williams if he wouldn’t mind shooting a bunch of famous people getting mistreated to symbolize the injustice of global trade rules and agricultural dumping on poor countries. Then we asked Colin Firth, Antonio Banderas, Chris Martin, Michael Stipe, Minnie Driver, Thom Yorke, Jamelia, and Alanis Morissette to suffer the indignity of being covered in chocolate, coffee, milk, rice, and other commodities. No stunt doubles were employed.

Young adults turning into their parents might be an issue for an insurance company to address with humor. For the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE), promoting financial literacy among adults by encouraging them to take personal responsibility for their financial health is a serious priority. We created this campaign to reach individuals who need the knowledge and skills to navigate their finances and build a more secure future.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) was facing an aging and diminishing membership. To improve awareness of why the intrinsic values the ACLU stands for are critically important to all, we focused on what being an American means on an individual level. The “Scrapbook for Freedom” campaign included over 30 nationally known celebrities and photographers who donated their time and talent. Membership tripled in two years, with a much more diverse audience, especially among younger people. Donations increased $15 million to more than $80 million.

Although the controversial provisions of the Patriot Act have been replaced or changed by the USA Freedom Act, the surveillance powers remain. This campaign, which called attention to the Acts’ more draconian measures, was created to influence the content of the Democratic Party platform, as it was being finalized at the national convention.

For The Preserve it seemed like a simple assignment: introduce a master-planned community as ‘the only development of its kind in the region that by virtue of its location, its protections and its sustainability, respects the land, nature, and the people who will co-inhabit it.’ Now, all we had to do was make it all memorable and motivating.

Tourism is a massive industry in California, employing over 1.1 million people. No wonder every destination wants a piece of that delicious $150+ billion annual pie. To spread the wealth around, I've done my part, developing the "Put Life On Coast" branding campaign for Morro Bay, concepting the Highway 1 Discovery Route logo and resultant campaigns. Let’s see, who else? Right: I’ve also brought the hoards to Disneyland, Santa Clarita, Redding-Shasta, Pismo Beach, San Luis Obispo, Mendocino, and a bunch more.

Here is a small sampling of recent website projects on which I served as creative director and/or writer. Some began from a blank sheet, while others required taking a current site and bringing it to life to reflect a new brand positioning and thematic approach. Done right, it's not a process for the impatient. For instance, to revise the Central California Blood Center website, a copy deck with over 7,300 new and edited words was required. Fortunately, I'm backed by a team of fellow mercenaries who can flawlessly do everything from design to development down to the last pixel.