• November 8, 2004

Award-winning creative director and copywriter Jimmy Smith has joined BBDO New York as an executive creative director. Smith comes from Wieden + Kennedy where he created television advertising for clients such as Nike, including the famed "Freestyle" spot. At BBDO, Smith will report to David Lubars, BBDO's chairman and chief creative officer. He will divide his time between New York and Los Angeles. Smith is something of a Renaissance man, having helped to extend the Nike brand into other media. For example, he wrote the "Nike Battlegrounds" documentary and TV series for MTV and co-authored a book, "Soul of the Game," a celebration of basketball in images and voices.

Furthermore, he has produced music videos and CDs. He creative directed the "NBA Street 2" video game for Electronic Arts and co-published the custom magazine "U-Don't Stop." Additionally, Smith was the brainchild behind "The Truth," a novel that examines the issue of racial prejudices and misunderstanding.

As if that weren't enough, he has a musical, called "Ball," in production. Smith is Lubars' second major creative hire since coming to the Omnicom agency last June. Earlier this year, Lubars hired Kara Goodrich from Euro RSCG to serve as a creative director responsible for enhancing the agency's print efforts.