My friend Steve Smith, who has died aged 68 of prostate cancer, was a successful advertising copywriter. Imaginative and funny, in the late 1980s and early 90s he created many of the scripts for the classic Time for a Sharp Exit campaign for Harp lager, which was his concept. His stories all had blokes in awkward situations, such as in the “Randy the Dog” advert in which a man inadvertently causes his nextdoor neighbour’s pooch to jump out of a top floor window.
Among other campaigns, Steve was also responsible for the 1984 Leyland Roadrunner Truck advert featuring some spectacular driving by the French stuntman Gilbert Bataille, who balanced a lorry on two wheels.
