Bill Milkereit and Todd Tucker of Poke the Bear on Learning to Read the Room

Bring creative solutions—not just ideas—to the table

Writer Bill and art director Todd cofounded Poke the Bear. 

We spent two minutes with Bill and Todd to learn more about their backgrounds, their creative inspirations and recent work they’ve admired. 

Bill and Todd, tell us …

Where you grew up, and where you live now.

• Bill: Chicago’s South Side then Charleston, S.C. Now, Dallas.
• Todd: Lufkin, Texas, on a cattle ranch. Now, just north of Dallas.

How you first realized you were creative.

• Bill: I was much more interested in making my classmates and teachers laugh than whatever else was going on. To achieve the desired results, I had to think quicker, come up with material, insights, stories and one-liners on the fly.
• Todd: My first-grade teacher sent a letter home to my parents. She was freaked out that I was drawing things in three dimensions. 

A moment from high school or college that changed your life.

• Bill: Attending the the Portfolio Center in Atlanta after college was the best move of my career. There, a smartass kid could really shape his knack for making up stories and putting words together into a marketable skill. 
• Todd: When my photography professor said, “You’re not going to be a photographer, you’re going to be an art director. And that’s a good thing. Just learn Photoshop and I’ll give you credits on your upper-level photo classes.” 

Your most important creative inspirations, and some recent stuff you love.

• Bill: “Where’s The Beef” – That great ’80s TV campaign from Wendy’s and Joe Sedelmaier. As a kid I thought, “Somebody had to come up with those characters. I want to do that.” Recently, I’m into all the Liquid Death ridiculousness. Calling out this whole hydration culture is funny. And here’s the thing: it only takes a little bit of guts. We can’t take ourselves too seriously. There’s enough seriousness out there. 
• Todd: Early on it was David Carson. “The End of Print” blew my mind. Now, David Fincher and Wes Anderson are at the top of my list.

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One of your favorite creative projects you’ve ever worked on. 

• Bill: These TV spots (and over 100 radio ads) for QuikTrip were so odd and wide open. It took some courage from an awesome client, a marketer that just wanted to do fun commercials. RIP Jim Denny. 
• Todd: The Chick-fil-A Cows stuff was a blast. The “Reely, Kevin?” spot is my favorite.

@henryholland10

Reely Kevin? #cows #chickfila #cowsoftiktok #eatmorchikin #chickfilacommercial

♬ original sound – Henry Holland (HH)

A recent project you’re proud of. 

• Bill: We just finished this campaign for Registered Distillery One bourbon. Besides the fact that Todd and I have been known to enjoy some delicious bourbon from time to time, we (as in, mostly Todd) crafted the hell outta these old-school print ads. 
• Todd: We’re proud of the “Break Out The Good Stuff” campaign for See’s Candies. 

Someone else’s work you admired lately.

• Bill: The Progressive campaign “We Can’t Save You From Becoming Your Parents” is my kind of smart, insightful, observational humor. I have been known to shush anyone else in the room whenever a new one comes on. 
• Todd: The folks at Tombras are killing it lately. Their campaign for Kayak is smart, simple—and just the right amount of wrong.

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Your main strength as a creative person.

• Bill: As a writer, I do a lot of reading. As in, reading the room. People-watching is my thing. Airports, jury duty, food courts, ballgames. Which leads to a lot of observational humor, which leads to telling emotionally-resonant stories based on human behavior. It’s stuff we can laugh at because we know it’s true. 
• Todd: The ability to solve specific problems (often in very restrained boxes) in fresh, relatable ways. Thinking outside the box is easy. Throwing random stuff on the wall and not really caring if it sticks is easy. Bringing creative solutions, not just creative ideas, is what wins the day. That’s why we decided to start Poke The Bear. To bring more of that kind of thinking to our clients.

Your biggest weakness.

• Bill: Attention span. Undiagnosed, but man, locking in on one thing at a time is a big, um, challenge for me. 
• Todd: I’m a pessimist, so I have a hard time celebrating the wins at first. I over-plan for the worst case scenario, but if that doesn’t happen, great, that’s when I get to fully celebrate. A little.

A mentor who helped you navigate the industry.

• Bill: Jim Mountjoy, my first boss at Loeffler Ketchum Mountjoy. He taught me that you don’t have to be a big a-hole to be a big shot. And Stan Richards drilled into me a ton of invaluable habits. One of the main ones: presentation is everything. He made me rehearse all the time. I hated it. But there’s no substitute for really knowing your stuff. 
• Todd: Dennis Walker. My first creative director. A great mentor and friend and inspiration regarding all things kerning and leading.

What you’d be doing if you weren’t in advertising.

• Todd: I’d be the guy in the background of ’90s hip-hop who just yells one word throughout the song.
• Bill: Sports color commentator. I’m already better than 90 percent of these bozos. RIP John Madden.