After being headhunted by Wieden & Kennedy, and an interview with Mr W himself in Cannes ("The alcohol from the previous night's celebration did wonders for subduing the adrenalin-laced butterflies flapping around in my stomach," he says in typical creative style), Smith and his fiancee Claire flew to the US to check the opportunity. The couple loved it and made the decision to move. There were of course one or two minor obstacles - including the piles of endless paperwork and proving he's no terrorist, Colombian drug lord or axe murderer to the US Government - but Smith is now comfortably ensconced in Niketown.
The only hitch is he finds himself separated by a common language with the Yanks, thanks to his broad Yorkshire accent. "The guys in Asia understood my accent much better ... Or maybe it was just that they were too polite to ask what the hell I was talking about," he muses.
With the dream Nike account, among others, to work on, Smith says there's little difference between working in Asia and the US. Except in crucial issues like longer timelines and bigger budgets to play with. As he says, with his acquired Thai flair, "Same-same but different". Could he also have been referring to extra curricular activities, especially with his parting observation about the high number of strip clubs in Portland?
But he quickly adds: "I have to stress that I really don't think that that is a particularly high catchment area for creatively-driven individuals".
Diary isn't so sure, given the picture evidence of a comely Smith in a sparkly dress, taken at a gay cabaret in Singapore where he did his best Shirley Bassey impersonation. He insists on sticking to his story, however: "Fishing and work - that's me. No place in my life for stripping!"
You can take the boy out of Asia, but not Asia out of the boy.
