For 23 years, John Joseph “Jack” Smith was a talented adman and executive at Chicago-based Leo Burnett who was known for writing catchy music — as well as lyrics — for blue-chip clients of his firm, including McDonald’s and United Airlines.
“His ability to communicate a human note about a brand or a product and convey that in a 30-second commercial — that’s very hard to do, and he did it over and over,” said Mary Ann Quick, a former executive vice president at Leo Burnett whom Smith hired. “That was his greatest strength.”
Smith, 87, died of complications from progressive supra nuclear palsy on Jan. 27 in a care facility in Dallas, near his son’s home, said his niece, Suzy Jackson.
A longtime resident of Columbia, Missouri, Smith previously lived in Hinsdale, Clarendon Hills, Lake Bluff and downtown Chicago.
Smith was born in 1938 in Davenport, Iowa. His father was a metallurgist and his mother a homemaker. He moved with his family at age 7 to Hinsdale and he graduated from what then was known as Hinsdale Township High School.
After earning a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri in 1962 — where he was a drummer in a party band — Smith worked as a production assistant at a TV station in Wichita, Kansas.
After that, he was hired as a copywriter at Gardner Advertising, an agency in St. Louis.
In 1971, Smith returned to the Chicago area when Leo Burnett hired him as a creative staffer.
Early on, he worked on the United account, writing lyrics and contributing music for the airline’s “Friendly Skies” messaging, which was given initial exposure in 1965.
The Tribune in 1973 reported on Smith’s contribution to the latest jingle in United’s “Friendly Skies” campaigns, with the lyrics “Mother country’s got her arms open wide. Don’t let this good land pass you by.”
Then-Tribune advertising columnist George Lazarus wrote in 1973 that the song was “nothing short of sensational,” with lyrics and music written by Smith.
In 1974, Smith was named an associate creative director at Leo Burnett, and two years later he was promoted to vice president.
In 1982, he was named a senior vice president and that same year — just seven months later — he was promoted to executive vice president.
In 1986, he was named vice chairman and director of creative services at Leo Burnett.
In 1981, McDonald’s shifted domestic ad agencies, dropping the Needham, Harper & Steers agency — which earlier had polished the “You deserve a break today” tagline into a fresh commercial pitch on airwaves — in favor of Leo Burnett.
As a top creative at Leo Burnett, Smith immediately began working on a succession of McDonald’s campaigns, rolling out the “Together, McDonald’s & You” in 1983, “It’s a Good Time for the Great Taste of McDonald’s” in 1984 and “Good Time Great Taste” later in the 1980s.
Nancy Voorhees, who at one time was married to Smith, worked on the business side at Leo Burnett. She recalled Smith writing the music for those McDonald’s campaigns.
“Simply stated, Jack was a creative genius,” she said. “In short order, he could create a new concept or write an ad that not only communicated what was intended about the product, but also touched the human spirit in a very relevant and empathic way.”
Quick said Smith was “very demanding of creative product.”
“I flourished thanks to his mentoring, his high standards and his excellence,” she said. “But when you brought him an idea, either he was going to love it and support it, or he was going to throw you out.”
Cheryl Berman, the former chair and chief creative officer of Leo Burnett USA, reported to Smith earlier in her career. She called him “Mr. Music,” recalling Smith regularly working with colleagues while dining at Japanese restaurant Hatsuhana, writing down ideas on napkins.
“If anybody said who was the main person who inspired me, it would have to be Jack,” Berman said. “And he just opened us up to the world of music. He had all these friends in Nashville that we got to go and meet, and … I don’t think we’d have been able to do that (otherwise).”
Smith was promoted to vice chairman of Leo Burnett in 1993, and he also was named to a new position, group president, overseeing worldwide creative services for United, McDonald’s and Kraft Foods.
After retiring from Leo Burnett in early 1995, Smith — an avid fan of the University of Missouri football team — soon returned to Columbia, where he taught at the university.
He kept his hand in advertising, working on campaigns for Missouri’s football and basketball teams, for the university hospital and for university fundraising. He received the university’s highest alumni honor, the Distinguished Service Award, in 2001.
“He was kind of an unconventional journalism teacher who gave (students) real-life examples on campaigns and pitches,” Jackson said. “And out of passion for what he did, he did a lot of pro bono (advertising) work for the university.”
Smith won more than 20 Clio Awards for advertising and in 2011 was inducted into the American Advertising Federation’s Hall of Fame.
Smith self-published a memoir titled “That’s My Story and I’m Sticking to It,” Jackson said.
Four marriages ended in divorce. Smith also is survived by a son, Chris; two daughters, Samm Smith and Jackie Gundlach; three grandchildren; and a sister, Diane Smith Cochran.
Services were held.
Bob Goldsborough is a freelance reporter.
