Max Smith
"The years 1966 through 1995 are blank because I was on tour with the Grateful Dead."
My CV
I am a consultant copywriter, scriptwriter and marketeer with 40+ years of experience in advertising, marketing, journalism, PR and events.
I respond to invitations to work on projects which are intellectually challenging, involve partnerships with stimulating people, or are well-paid. You can contact me at [email protected].
Detailed below are clients of whom you may have heard; there are many, many more which operate locally or in niche markets and are therefore, despite my best endeavours, still relatively obscure.
Education
Oakham School and Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, graduating in English Literature and Moral Sciences (what we used to call philosophy).
Above- and below-the-line marketing
I've worked both above- and below-the-line for clients such as: American Airlines and British Airways, Hewlett-Packard, Volkswagen, SEAT and Audi, Saab and Renault, Castrol and ABB, the National Exhibition Centre and Birmingham Post, CRU Group and AGCO, Volvo Construction and Mitac, Kubota and PE International, Unipart and Toby Inns, BUPA and Shell, Lucas Aerospace and the Ministry of Defence, Walsh International and Commercial Software Management, Business Link and the Birmingham Marketing Partnership, ITIS and the Worshipful Company of Scientific Instrument Makers, the International Development Consortium, Portus Consulting, PERA and and Time Management International.
I have also acted as a consultant to several local authorities, health care trusts and the DTI, writing annual reports and regular public communication magazines.
Website + e-marketing
I was an early adopter of the internet, prompted by the Grateful Dead more years ago than I can remember. I have conceived and written websites for Abbey National (now Santander), Saab GB, Staybrite Windows, the CRU Group, Massey Ferguson and Wilde's. Oh - and every smith, but that's still a work in progress!
TV, radio & film
I have written TV commercials for, amongst others, the Birmingham Post, Bristol Street Motors, Volkswagen, Viscount Furniture, Staybrite Windows and Volvo Trucks North America.
I have scripted radio commercials for, amongst others, Staybrite Windows, Inland Waterways, Boots, American Airlines and Bulmer's Cider.
I have scripted films for, amongst others, the PDSA, Lucas Aerospace, Diageo, SEAT, Meydan, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and GE Capital.
Journalism
I have edited magazines for the Department of Trade and Industry, the National Business Angels Network, the European Business Angels Network, Massey Ferguson and Relais et Chateaux; reviewed books for Granta; and have written ad hoc and assorted pieces for a variety of local and national journals.
I write a blog (fairly) regularly, called Not Dark Yet, which addresses topical issues both political and philosophical, sporting and literary, gastronomic and oenological. It may also devote too much attention to Bob Dylan and the Boston Red Sox, but you can make up your own mind here.
Speechwriting
I have written speeches for, amongst others, Sir Peter Ustinov, Neil Armstrong, Lord Digby Jones, Jenny Pitman and a plethora of corporate moguls and minions.
Publications
I have written an unacclaimed biography of Harry Ferguson, the inventor of the modern tractor.
Music
I have written the lyrics for a US Top 20 Country & Western song. The music was by Jess Bailey - yeh, that Jess Bailey, from Spandau Ballet.
Experiental
I conceived, themed and wrote events for Volkswagen, Audi, Renault, SEAT and Skoda in the UK; Saab GB and Saab Europe, including the international launch of the Saab 9-5 Wagon in Barcelona.
I was responsible for the events which celebrated the 50th anniversary of Volkswagen in the UK, a combination of business and pleasure.
I have also worked extensively for Volvo Trucks and Volvo Construction Equipment throughout the world, scripting many events for Volvo Construction Equipment, Volvo UK in Warwick; and, for Volvo Trucks USA, including a 6-month project which culminated in the launch of the Volvo VN in Greensboro, North Carolina. This involved the creation of a 1000-seater theatre, writing and producing a dozen films, and scriptwriting for (and coaching of) 20 + presenters.
In addition, I have worked on the creation of the opening ceremony for Meydan in Dubai, developing the audio-visual presentation and translating the Arabic verse of Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum into English sonnets.
I respond to invitations to work on projects which are intellectually challenging, involve partnerships with stimulating people, or are well-paid. You can contact me at [email protected].
Detailed below are clients of whom you may have heard; there are many, many more which operate locally or in niche markets and are therefore, despite my best endeavours, still relatively obscure.
Education
Oakham School and Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, graduating in English Literature and Moral Sciences (what we used to call philosophy).
Above- and below-the-line marketing
I've worked both above- and below-the-line for clients such as: American Airlines and British Airways, Hewlett-Packard, Volkswagen, SEAT and Audi, Saab and Renault, Castrol and ABB, the National Exhibition Centre and Birmingham Post, CRU Group and AGCO, Volvo Construction and Mitac, Kubota and PE International, Unipart and Toby Inns, BUPA and Shell, Lucas Aerospace and the Ministry of Defence, Walsh International and Commercial Software Management, Business Link and the Birmingham Marketing Partnership, ITIS and the Worshipful Company of Scientific Instrument Makers, the International Development Consortium, Portus Consulting, PERA and and Time Management International.
I have also acted as a consultant to several local authorities, health care trusts and the DTI, writing annual reports and regular public communication magazines.
Website + e-marketing
I was an early adopter of the internet, prompted by the Grateful Dead more years ago than I can remember. I have conceived and written websites for Abbey National (now Santander), Saab GB, Staybrite Windows, the CRU Group, Massey Ferguson and Wilde's. Oh - and every smith, but that's still a work in progress!
TV, radio & film
I have written TV commercials for, amongst others, the Birmingham Post, Bristol Street Motors, Volkswagen, Viscount Furniture, Staybrite Windows and Volvo Trucks North America.
I have scripted radio commercials for, amongst others, Staybrite Windows, Inland Waterways, Boots, American Airlines and Bulmer's Cider.
I have scripted films for, amongst others, the PDSA, Lucas Aerospace, Diageo, SEAT, Meydan, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and GE Capital.
Journalism
I have edited magazines for the Department of Trade and Industry, the National Business Angels Network, the European Business Angels Network, Massey Ferguson and Relais et Chateaux; reviewed books for Granta; and have written ad hoc and assorted pieces for a variety of local and national journals.
I write a blog (fairly) regularly, called Not Dark Yet, which addresses topical issues both political and philosophical, sporting and literary, gastronomic and oenological. It may also devote too much attention to Bob Dylan and the Boston Red Sox, but you can make up your own mind here.
Speechwriting
I have written speeches for, amongst others, Sir Peter Ustinov, Neil Armstrong, Lord Digby Jones, Jenny Pitman and a plethora of corporate moguls and minions.
Publications
I have written an unacclaimed biography of Harry Ferguson, the inventor of the modern tractor.
Music
I have written the lyrics for a US Top 20 Country & Western song. The music was by Jess Bailey - yeh, that Jess Bailey, from Spandau Ballet.
Experiental
I conceived, themed and wrote events for Volkswagen, Audi, Renault, SEAT and Skoda in the UK; Saab GB and Saab Europe, including the international launch of the Saab 9-5 Wagon in Barcelona.
I was responsible for the events which celebrated the 50th anniversary of Volkswagen in the UK, a combination of business and pleasure.
I have also worked extensively for Volvo Trucks and Volvo Construction Equipment throughout the world, scripting many events for Volvo Construction Equipment, Volvo UK in Warwick; and, for Volvo Trucks USA, including a 6-month project which culminated in the launch of the Volvo VN in Greensboro, North Carolina. This involved the creation of a 1000-seater theatre, writing and producing a dozen films, and scriptwriting for (and coaching of) 20 + presenters.
In addition, I have worked on the creation of the opening ceremony for Meydan in Dubai, developing the audio-visual presentation and translating the Arabic verse of Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum into English sonnets.