I'm Mike Giunta and I’m a Writer/Creative Director in Pittsburgh, PA.

I’ve wanted to be a writer since I was in the 3rd grade, long before I could even pretend that calling myself a writer was cool. With my love of words unwavering through high school, it only made sense that I would go on to pursue an accounting degree in college. I confused myself further by graduating at the top of my class and receiving job offers from two big CPA firms. Despite my English professor’s pleas that I pursue a writing career, I became an accountant who soon wished to abandon numbers for words.

After a few years of begging, pleading and writing for free to prove my chops, I got a break at an advertising agency. The first things I realized about my career change is that I no longer had to shave every day, and as long as my eyes were open, I could claim to be working and no one could prove otherwise. But the best thing was the chance to come up with new ideas every day and work on them with some really talented art directors.

It’s hard for an Italian-Catholic like myself to share some of my successes without feeling guilty. But…I was named one of the city’s rising stars by Pittsburgh Magazine’s “40 Under 40” issue. I’ve also won many local, regional, and national awards like the Addys, Obies, and Communication Arts. My work has been featured in Ad Week and Creativity magazines, and even a Swedish documentary. Seriously.

I received three Best of Show honors in regional competitions, a few Judges Awards of Excellence, and four Mosaic Awards for promoting diversity in advertising. I wrote for a local satirical news site, and I’m on the Board of Directors of the Pittsburgh Advertising Federation.