Having failed to enable his surfing to finance an enviable lifestyle, John Merrifield emerged in Singapore, where an initial foray into adland was highlighted by six years at Batey Ads.

His debut as CD followed; a stint at Saatchi’s Jakarta that was aborted prematurely when tanks rumbled past the office. Dave Droga made him ECD of Saatchi’s Hong Kong and within two years the office had won their first Kam Fan (Grand Prix).

Persuaded to open a new Saatchi’s in Tokyo, he created an environment that was a radical departure for agencies in Japan. Its art gallery established a number of new artists, while the agency itself received the ultimate accolade: it was taken to the public prosecutor’s office in July 2002. (It’s not often entire shops get arrested.)

John joined TBWA\Japan as Chief Creative Officer on April 1, 2003. Within five months, his ‘Vertical Football’ billboard for adidas had earned worldwide acclaim. A year later, the adidas ‘Impossible Sprint’ took the spectacle of the Olympic games to death-defying heights in Hong Kong and Osaka.

He took on his current position as ‘Creative at large’ of TBWA Asia-Pacific in September 2006. His remit includes everything from attracting top talent and spearheading regional and global pitches, to hot-housing with the network’s young bloods and inculcating a culture of creative innovation. He continues to work intimately with TBWA’s showcase clients, adidas, Standard Chartered Bank, VISA and Singapore Airlines chief among them.

Judges have awarded John multiple Gold Lions at Cannes (including China’s first ever Gold in 2008), multiple Gold Pencils at the One Show, the Grand Prix and multiple Golds at the Clios, best of show (twice) and multiple Golds at AdFest, multiple Golds at the Asian Spikes, multiple Golds at AWARD, the ADC prize (Gold) in Tokyo, multiple acceptances in D&AD, Communication Arts and The Work book, as well as Gold, Silver and Bronze awards in lesser shows around the world. He was named Asia’s Creative of the Year in 2004 and 2008. He topped the Creative Rankings in Asia/Pacific in 2004. He was named Chairman of the Print, Innovative and Integrated jury for the 2006 Clios. He was a member of the 2009 Cannes Lions jury, the 2007 D&AD jury and has been asked to pass judgment on the work of others in Asia, America and Europe.

He would give it all back for more time in the water.