Meet the Creative Duo Who Are “Polar Opposites That Somehow Make a Cohesive Whole”

Left, Todd Condie, right, Mike Cicale 

Independent ad agency Terri & Sandy recently appointed its first ever group creative directors in Todd Condie and Mike Cicale. It’s not the first time that Todd has been first to do something at the agency either - he was also its first official employee, after Terri & Sandy themselves.

Mike meanwhile, joined the agency in 2020, but there was an invisible tie linking the pair before they started working together.
“I interviewed Mike over Zoom in the middle of the pandemic back in 2020. My first impression was, oddly, ‘Why does the layout of his apartment look familiar?’,” Todd recounts. “Then I spotted an unmistakable great dane walking around behind him and suddenly realised that we had lived in the same building for years!”

Whilst Todd was formulating this canine connection, Mike’s initial impression of him was slightly different. “I remember walking out of the BBQ place thinking, no way this dude likes me.” In fact, based on first impressions, the pair are entirely different people - from their sense of style, humour, background and more. But together, they are proof that two odds can make an even, or are “polar opposites that somehow make a cohesive whole,” as Todd puts it.

“If you are around the two of us for five seconds, you’ll realise how different we are.” Mike adds, “First impression: he seemed smart and buttoned up. On the conservative side. But we started working together right away, in November of 2020.”

Prior to becoming colleagues at Terri & Sandy, Todd and Mike found their way into the industry through entirely different routes. Todd, in a past life, was a high-flying corporate lawyer, before he realised it was not his “true path,” and looked towards advertising instead.

“I was lucky enough to have a contact that got me a phone call with none other than Terri & Sandy, which was just starting up, and where I volunteered to work for free. Who would say no to that?” Todd explains. “Thus, my career as head of client service began – only they didn’t yet have any clients, or any service. Once they did, I quickly proved to be a far better writer and creative than account guy – though I still handled the contracts.”

Mike, on the other hand, had long held a dream to work in TV. “I wanted to tell stories, make people smile, think, whatever. I love movies, so TV was the closest thing to that. It was very hard for me to get into TV, and I came up as a web designer.” Web design led to stints at agencies including Ogilvy and Grey, before he landed at Terri & Sandy.

If there’s one thing that Todd and Mike are entirely unified on, it’s their commitment to the work, which outweighs any creative disagreement they might have. Todd explains, “We butt heads all the time. But we sincerely respect each other’s creative chops. So it often comes down to a comparison of passion for a particular position. We don’t back down, but we do make room.”

In a similar vein, Mike shares, “Todd and I tend to have similar tastes and goals in terms of the work. That's good and bad. The disagreements are few and far between. When they happen, we immediately hash it out.

“Regardless of the outcome of the hashing, we always walk in a room as a united front. That's the key to a successful relationship. Communication and compromise without compromising the work.”

Now navigating their new responsibilities as GCDs, Mike shares that it’s a “work in progress” as the pair now have an oversight of the entire Terri & Sandy portfolio. Importantly, he notes, “It has not changed our dynamic, but we are figuring out how to divide and conquer a bit more.”

The pair’s strong and united front that they established as creative directors has set them up well for their new role. Todd adds, “Our plates are fuller than ever. Which means that we’re needing to split up more than ever. Which means, ironically, that we have to be more in lockstep than ever. But we’ve worked together long enough that, if one of us is in the room, it’s like both of us are there. It’s a mind-meld we learned from Terri Meyer and Sandy Greenberg.”

As creatives and leaders, Todd and Mike continue to learn from one another. Todd describes himself as an “intuitive creative,” whose reactions “tend to come fast and clear.” Mike, therefore, encourages him to take a moment to pause. “He pushes me to slow down, question my gut and to give creatives the time and space they need to prove me wrong.”

Although Mike admits that isolating the biggest lesson they’ve learnt from one another is, “a tough question, being that we both know everything”, he shares that Todd has made him a better writer. “Obviously my background is art, but at this level, being able to do both is critical.” It’s a relationship that is mutually beneficial for the pair of them, with Mike reflecting, “We bring the best out of each other, and do our best to suppress the bad.”

Above, 'Absurdly Simple Savings' for BJ’s Wholesale Club

Looking at their work with clients, which recently have included Freshpet, BJ's Wholesale Club, Aspercreme and more, Todd and Mike are known for thinking beyond the expectations of a category, and putting their own memorable spin on a genre. The duo are heavily involved in the briefing process, says Mike. “We always talk about our vision prior to briefing teams. We do our own research and are constantly on in the background in case shit hits the fan.”

“I like to know everything I can about the category and the target,” Todd adds. “But most of all, I value getting to know our clients and their specific business problems. Because our clients’ true needs are often buried a few layers beneath the actual brief.”

Whilst a large amount of their work is in the comedy space, Todd explains that he’s reluctant to be pigeonholed as a ‘comedy team’. “For me, the best advertisers are chameleons, able to shift their colours to suit the project. Luckily for us, a lot of our brands have been down to tickle funny bones.”

And ‘tickle funny bones’ they have. Todd and Mike both name Freshpet as one of their favourite brands that they’ve worked on together, and one spot in particular, ‘My Boy Junior’, starring ‘The Sopranos’ legend Steve Schirripa, marked another first for Todd. “Subtly suggesting that we killed a guy in our latest Freshpet spot is something I certainly haven’t done in my career before.”

Above, 'My Boy Junior' for Freshpet 

Working within an agency founded by creative partners, Todd and Mike are keeping that creative spirit alive. Be it in the spirit of celebration that Todd learnt from Terri, or in the way they uplift the team around them, they are relentless in their dedication to the work, and the people making it.

Todd says, “In fact, there’s possibly no better advocate for a devoted creative than Mike Cicale. And the proof is the number of creatives from throughout his career who text and call him regularly to pick his brain or just say hello.”

Proving this, Mike shared his proudest moment at the agency so far - and it’s not a piece of work or personal achievement. “Very recently, one of our teams made the ‘Creatives to Watch’ lists. It's amazing to see members of your team get that kind of recognition in a crowded, competitive industry.”

Todd and Mike are proof that first impressions can be false, but being the ‘first’ to do something at an agency is never a bad thing.