Mark Radcliffe

About

I grew up in Maine, which, as many know, has long been hailed as the global epicenter of advertising. 

Since the rest of my family consists of doctors, scientists and MBAs, so how I ended up in the creative arts is anyone's guess.

But long before I became a writer, I was a few other things: 

A nationally-ranked ski racer, a top cyclist, an English teacher at a private prep school, a musician and even an actor.

At some point I realized the many things I loved all came together in the world of advertising, so I headed off to the Creative Circus in Atlanta to become a copywriter. From there I landed at a boutique shop in Portland, OR called Nerve, where I got in the award shows, did over 70 radio spots, assembled a TV reel, and single-handedly sold a post-9/11 campaign to the CEO of the Red Cross.

Then I criss-crossed the country multiple times, working in agencies in Seattle, then Boston, then LA, and then New York, going back and forth between freelance and full-time, sampling a wide range of work cultures, clients, projects, and leading my parents to suspect I might be in the Witness Protection & Relocation Program.

But ever since I learned HTML in ’99, I'd always been a bit digital, so after years of just dabbling in it, in 2008 I dove in head-first, creating websites, microsites, apps, widgets and social media campaigns for brands like AT&T, Qualcomm, Corona, Chase, Citi and more. 

Nowadays I'm 360, having recently written the multi-media launch campaign for Citi Bike in NYC, all based around the tagline, "Unlock a bike. Unlock New York."

When not making ads, I perform as a singer/ songwriter, write for the Huffington Post and am even pitching a novel. 

I'm currently freelancing in NYC and elsewhere in the US and would love to be kept in mind for your next project.
 

 

Long before I went into advertising, I wanted to be an Olympic ski racer. 

Chased it for 11 years. skiing 4-5 hours a day, 120 days a year, going to a ski academy for high school.

Won a lot of races, crashed a bunch, was clocked at 84 mph one time, broke four bones and blew out one knee. (Twice.)

Eventually made it as far as 12th in the NCAA Division 1 Championships in college.

But, then I became an English teacher, working with troubled teens at a private school in Maine.

Which led me to think what I should really be is a therapist.

Until I took a big left turn and became an actor. 

(Which really meant I was a bartender.)

But I'd always been a writer.

From poetry to comedy sketches to short stories and pre-written scripts used to nervously call up girls in high school, words and ideas were my obsession.

So I finally decided to make a career out of it. 

When I discovered advertising, I realized it was the perfect way to merge the competitor, psychologist, actor and storyteller in me all into one career. 

In the 22 years I've been doing it, it's taken me to over 100 agencies & companies all around the country and allowed me to tell stories for some of the best brands in the world.

And I'm proud to say my favorite thing in the world is still a blank piece of paper. 

If you've got an empty one in need of some good ideas, drop me a line. Let's fill it up together.

Working Not Working
EMAIL: mark (at) markradcliffe dot com
(sorry, lotta spammers out here)