Howard Hill

Howard is a senior copywriter in NYC. His site features integrated work for six clients, plus a one-shots page, plus a page of outtakes. I recommend you click into DIRECTV and watch the Wayne’s World brand spot. Then go down to Outtakes and watch the Wayne stand-in just melt under the pressure of trying to say a lead-in line to Kim Basigner. Who wouldn’t?!

Portfolio: krop.com/howardhill

James Rosene

James is a copywriter/CD in Tampa. Lots to click around and explore on his site. I went into Digital and then Sleepsonian Institute, where I watched a video called Dust Mites. Apparently, they can excrete 200 times their body weight. Which, naturally, reminded me of one of the greatest things about being a copywriter. The accumulation of brilliant trivia about a completely random assortment of topics.

Portfolio: jamesrosene.com

Kevin Steele

Kevin is a copywriter at WONGDOODY in Los Angeles, been there since May 2010 after graduating from Circus. What a great shop to land at right out of school. Such an awesome time in the career. Getting killer work produced, swapping out student campaigns for real stuff in the book, staying at Shutters when you’re like 25 years old and two nights’ hotel bill is equal to one month’s paycheck. But who cares? You thought up a giant skeleton outdoor board while you were peeing in the shower one morning and someone paid $200k to build the thing. (Just made that up. Not Kevin’s actual story.) Love it.

Portfolio: cargocollective.com/kevinsteele

Ryan Hartsfield

Ryan is a senior copywriter in San Francisco, previously at McCann and GSP (as an account guy). His site is based on a stack of paper. In his words, “One day I started cleaning out my files because they were moving us. So I started to stack up all my old briefs, dead ads, scripts, etc. into a neat little 8.5×11 pile. By the time I cleared out two years of shit, the stack was about three feet high. It looked too interesting to throw it away, so I taped it up. It became an art piece as a joke. I found a stand and put a $3000 price tag on it. I held a contest for names: “Dead Weight,” “Tower of Futility,” and the overly pretentious “Work”  are some of my favorites. I settled on “The Other 96%” because it represents all the bullshit we have to go through to make something that shouldn’t be as hard as it really is. Later I realized some of the better things I’ve done aren’t (theoretically) in the stack, so I turned the it into a site idea. And I suppose, in some way, made use of all the good n’ bad things in the pile that never came to be.” Love it.

Portfolio: ryanhartsfield.com

Gerard Seifert

Gerard is a senior copywriter at WONGDOODY in Los Angeles. People sometimes ask MC, “What’s the right amount of set-up for projects in a portfolio?” Such a hard question to answer because every project is different, right? Right. But, if you had to point to an example of a portfolio with just the right set-up, content and tone, Gerard’s would be an excellent choice.

Portfolio: gerardseifert.com

Matthew Bottkol

Matthew is a copywriter/ACD at Dentsu in NYC. His mother, Joan, describes him as follows: “Matthew grew up in a wood clapboard house near downtown Minneapolis. But, these humble beginnings belie his enormous talents. He sang in the Metropolitan Boys Choir and taught himself to play Scott Joplin’s “The Entertainer” on piano. He started wrestling at age seven and was city champion by age twelve. He endured thirteen years of public schooling and got along with just about everyone he ever met. Needless to say, his talents have only multiplied with age. He’d be an invaluable addition to any agency. And I’m not just saying that because I’m his mother. Did I mention he’s also handsome? Feel free to call me if you’d like to talk about Matthew some more. You can get my number from my wonderful son who, by the way, never forgets to call me.”

Portfolio: web.me.com/mbottkol

Shannon O’Malley

Shannon is a copywriter in San Francisco. In addition to her portfolio, you’ll find quite a bit about her awesome blog and soon-to-be book, Apocalypse Cakes, on her site. In fact, it’s front and center. Which, for those of us who write on the side, makes you think about at what point you’d make copywriting your writing-on-the-side if your writing-on-the-side blew up. Hmm.

Portfolio: shannonomalley.com

Honorary: Jon Arnold

Jon is an art director/designer/creative director at BOHAN in Nashville. His site is called Coolville, and that it is, especially his work for the United Methodist Church. Wow. Love the Fine Living spots, too. Says Jon about his portfolio, “My work is only as good as the writing i’ve been blessed enough to have been given.” Honorary MC post, ding!

Portfolio: thecoolville.com