Creative production agency Avocados and Coconuts has brought Michael Grant on board as creative director. Grant is best known for his wide-ranging work as a creative director and copywriter on TV, print, social, digital, and experiential projects for such brands as Pepsi, The North Face, Sun Valley, Trulia, Amazon, Muscle Milk, Google, and Square, among others. At Avocados and Coconuts, he will work closely with Amani King, who has been promoted to the role of executive creative director, and founder/executive producer Dalia Burde.
“Michael has long been our favorite writer to partner with when we’ve been lucky enough to book his freelance time, and he has contributed to many of our favorite projects,” said King. “We’ve always felt like he speaks our language, creatively, aesthetically, you could even say spiritually. He consistently expands our own view of the potential in a given project – and his creative insight honors the intelligence of the audience – which makes for the strongest work.”
Grant added, “Avocados and Coconuts makes beautiful films for companies that are doing important things in the world. Whether it’s renewable energy, improving working conditions in South America, or something simpler like the best cup of coffee or getting out into nature, the purpose and consciousness show in the work, and resonate with me personally.”
Grant was most recently freelancing as an associate creative director and copywriter at various agencies and brands, including Godfrey Dadich, Huge, LinkedIn, Bonfire Labs, and Airbnb. Prior to that, he was associate creative director and sr. copywriter at Mekanism, where he worked on TV, web, and social campaigns.
As a freelance writer, Grant has enjoyed stints at Autofuss, Google Brand Studio, Digitas, and B-Reel, working on a range of projects for Taco Bell, Ray-Ban, Intel, and others. Before that, he was on staff as a copywriter at West, where he led copy for a range of startups, and at Eleven, working on campaigns for Square, Sun Valley Tourism, Visa, and Coinstar.
Grant came into the ad industry through a non-traditional path. He worked for Warner Bros. Records as a guerrilla marketing rep while attending UC Berkeley, and after graduating he went full-on Hollywood as a stunt double for Tobey Maguire in Spider-Man 3. After filming wrapped, Grant’s foray into the ad world began at Evolution Bureau as a creative assistant, before transitioning to a copywriter role for clients, such as Nike Baseball, Tropicana, and adidas.
Outside of work, Grant flexes his writing skills on personal book projects, with two titles currently in the works.
