Chairman, CEO & CCO / Amusement Park Entertainment
Jimmy has found writing his own bio and referring to himself in the third person kind of weird, particularly the part where he's supposed to list all of his accomplishments. Listing his accomplishments has always made him feel like he was bragging or boasting or something. It would be different if he had accomplished as much as, say, Muhammad Ali, because then it wouldn't be boasting.
But right now he's only begun to make some noise. He's written two books. His first was "Soul of the Game." It was released in 1997 to critical acclaim, and won a Gold Medal in the 1998 Stiftung Buchkunst International Book Art Competition. It was voted among the "14 Most Beautiful Books of the World" by the Copenhagen Museum of Applied Arts. "Soul of the Game" was also featured at exhibitions held by the Chicago Field Museum, The Basketball Hall of Fame, and the International Center of Photography in New York City.
Unfortunately, a new copy of “Soul of the Game” is hard to get your hands on, nowadays. It’s sold out.
His second book is actually a graphic novel that comes with a music CD. It's called "The Truth." It was published in 1999. If you're into deep, provocative, and revolutionary thoughts, Jimmy suggests that you check it out by simply requesting a copy.
Jimmy writes for TV, too. He wrote a basketball documentary entitled "Battlegrounds" for Nike that debuted on MTV in September 2003. It was so successful that Nike and MTV requested a "Battlegrounds" TV series. It ran during the summer of 2004. At the time, "Battlegrounds" was the highest rated show in the history of MTV 2.
His second documentary film, was the independent project, "Second Chance Season." It debuted on ESPN2, September 24, 2008. Jimmy was the Executive Producer of the film. The movie chronicled the journey of Nick Young and his family as they strived to cope with and rise above the senseless killing of Nick's oldest brother.
Jimmy was also blessed to work as the Creative Director on EA Sports' video games, NBA Street 2 and 3. He did NOT develop the advertising for the video game. He co-developed and co-created the actual product, including the storyline and characters, plus helped secure the talent for the game.
Before starting his new company, Amusement Park Entertainment, Jimmy, or should I say Mr. Smith? OK, Mr. Smith it is. Mr. Smith was the Group Creative Director on Gatorade.
Mr. Smith is literally why Gatorade became G. In America and the world of sports, the G logo is now just as recognizable as the Nike Swoosh.
His work with Gatorade for “Replay” was awarded the Best of Show in 2011 at the One Show Entertainment Awards, and by the ANDYs in 2010. Also in 2010, “Replay” was recognized by the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Winning both a PR and Promo & Activation Grand Prix. In 2011 alone, “Replay” has won multiple golds at the AICP, Clios, ANDYs, D&AD (Design & Art Direction) and One Show. In fact, the only creative award show “Replay” hasn’t won, was in 2010 when it was nominated for the agency’s first ever Sports EMMY Award. Fortunately, Mr. Smith and his team handled the loss to the big boys of NBC, ESPN and HBO with class and dignity. And then reveled in the fact that they were nominated over CBS, ABC and Fox.
Before TBWA/CHIAT/DAY, Mr. Smith was EVP Executive Creative Director at BBDO. He secured his first piece of business, Motorola, with his first commercial for the agency. It was called "Phone Booth." The ad featured Madonna, Little Richard, Iggy Pop, Bootsy Collins and even the Notorious B.I.G (aka, Biggie Smalls). Mr. Smith also created the wildly successful online mini-movie "Instant Def" for Snickers. It starred Will.I.Am, Fergie, Apl and Taboo of the Black Eyed Peas as 1980s hip-hop super dope, super heroes.
Prior to TBWA/CHIAT/DAY and BBDO, Mr. Smith worked at Nike's ad agency, Wieden + Kennedy. His creations for Nike include LeBron James and Bernie Mac starring in a church themed ad called, "Book of Dimes," the hip-hop basketball, soccer and skateboarding ad classic, "Freestyle," and the "Funk" campaign that featured Dr. Funk (a.k.a., Vince Carter), Bootsy Collins and Snoop Dogg. While at Wieden + Kennedy, Mr. Smith's advertising work won numerous awards, including Cannes, Clio, Time magazine's "Ad of the Year," British Television Advertising, D&AD, One Show, Art Directors, Communication Arts and an Emmy nomination.
Finally, Mr. Smith, who is on the One Club Board of Directors, was overjoyed to be recognized by two magazines in 2010 and 2011. Black Enterprise honored him with being one of the “Top Executives in Marketing and Advertising”, while the bible of hip-hop, The Source magazine, recognized Mr. Smith as one of the 30 most powerful people in hip-hop, right along with Jay-Z, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Kanye West, Russell Simmons and Snoop Dogg. While none of these guys can compare to Muhammad Ali, they ain’t chopped liver, either.
