How This Creative Duo Evolved from a ‘Temporary Band-Aid’ to an Almost 10-Year Partnership

Courtney Pulver and Robert Casillas’s creative partnership is, like many of the best, a very serendipitous affair. 

To quote Robert, he joined LA agency David&Goliath – where they are both executive creative directors – “as a temporary freelance band-aid” when Courtney’s partner left. Almost a decade later, they’re both still happily creating in unison as part of the longest creative partnership each of them has been a part of. 

“I have to be honest, the first few projects we worked on together weren't the most exciting, but I felt a good connection to Court and had a great appreciation for the agency’s culture,” says Robert. “We quickly started producing great work together… From the get-go I saw the passion Court had for the work. Her dedication to the craft is what attracted me to staying around. And, to be honest, she hasn’t changed. She’s just as excited about making killer work and she likes to have fun along the way.”

“My first impression of Rob was that he was super easy to get along with and come up with ideas with,” adds Courtney. “I could tell instantly that he loved his job and cares about the work. I’d say that nothing has really changed when it comes to that. He always approaches every assignment with the desire to create something great and not take himself – or the work – too seriously.”

Courtney’s pathway into advertising was via a business major degree at the University of Colorado at Boulder. She wasn’t really feeling the classes until she took an intro to marketing course. “ We had an assignment where a small portion of it was dedicated to coming up with an idea for an ad –like 1% of the assignment – and I found it to be the most interesting part,” she says. It was at that point she looked into switching to the journalism school to pursue creative advertising. Thankfully, Courtney’s college had a great undergrad portfolio programme.

Meanwhile, Robert, the art director of the duo, always knew he wanted to ‘make’ or be in the business of creating. A high school art teacher – Ms. Charvet – took Robert under her wings and encouraged him to enter his art into various art competitions and galleries. She motivated Robert to apply for a scholarship at the Art Institute of California, which he ended up attending. “The scholarship was game-changing for me since I came from a very poor upbringing and my parents weren’t able to support me financially,” says Robert. “I immediately loved the concepting classes which sparked my interest in art direction. Advertising seemed like a great way of exercising my creativity for a living.”

Robert believes they both complement each other well in terms of always wanting to win, loving what they do and wanting to produce great work. “But we also bring two very different POVs with very different life experiences and interests, which have influenced our creative positively,” says Robert. 

“Most of the time, we work pretty closely together,” adds Courtney. “While we may focus a bit more on our respective art director or copywriter roles, we both weigh in on everything. We respect each other’s expertise, but we also give each other the freedom to not always stick to our own lane. I often have thoughts on art direction, and Rob will even write a script sometimes. I think the fact that we both care about the work as a whole makes us a good duo.”

“I love how closely we work together,” says Robert. “We’re extremely collaborative and value each other's POV when it comes to our crafts. I feel a lot of creatives stay in their occupational lanes but as Court mentioned, sometimes I’ll do a little writing or Court might have an awesome art direction thought.”

What’s more, one of David&Goliath’s 10 ‘Brave Ways’, ideals the agency lives by, is ‘we are stronger than me’, which speaks to the reasons why Robert and Courtney believe they work so well together. “We both have different strengths, and together, we are stronger creatives than if we were working alone. We can help each other get unstuck. And also just remind each other that at the end of the day, we have a pretty fun job,” says Courtney.

“Big time,” adds Robert. “We balance each other out with our skillset and we are always reminding ourselves that no matter how stressful or nutty it gets, we need to have fun. Plus, we also get the opportunity to create some work that has a real impact in the world, which is something D&G celebrates. That, combined with our passion for the process and craft, makes us a strong partnership.”

A recent project where this all came to fruition was for smart television brand VIZIO. The campaign’s launch spot premiered in December 2023 after an extensive process of character development alongside “awesome clients that see David&Goliath as a true partner and trust the agency’s POV”. The spot was shot in Bulgaria, a first for both Robert and Courtney. The entire living room - which you can see in the spot embedded below - was built on a set so the team could control the layout of the home. The pair were impressed by the quality of the build, the crews and the whole experience of shooting in Bulgaria. 

“On set, we usually like to tag team,” says Courtney. “When it’s more dialogue-heavy, I might be up closer to our director. While if something needs more of an AD eye, Rob may pop up there. We like to split up so that one of us can be close to our clients to make sure they’re happy with what we are capturing and can answer any questions or concerns they may have.”

“As Court mentioned,” says Robert, “we’re great at tag teaming on set. We pride ourselves on building a relationship with the director and DP. It always helps make a production go smoother. Court and I are also always thinking about the edit while on set. It really helps us when it comes to continuity and storytelling.”

“I think it makes a huge difference to have someone you can rely on and whom you trust,” adds Courtney, more generally on the benefits of having a creative partner. “No idea is too dumb. No pun is too painful. There’s a comfort and shorthand to having someone you know will be there to help solve a problem, or just lend an ear to listen. Plus, if both of us are really digging something, we know our teams are really onto something.”