John Smith's Bitter: Changing the agenda for bitter advertising

Ian Forth

John Smith’s bitter beer advertising was established as a classic with the character of stereotypical Yorkshireman Arkwright.
Agency: BMP DDBAuthor: Ian Forth

John Smith's Bitter Changing the agenda for bitter advertising

INTRODUCTION

When Campaignmagazine awarded Agency of the Year to BMP DDB Needham in 1992, it identified the new campaign for John Smith's Bitter as one of the main contributory factors in its decision. 'This year the agency established John Smith's as a national brand. The amorous ladybirds and, later, BMP's deft signing of the stand-up comic, Jack Dee, were widely recognised as one of the few campaigns ever to successfully replace one classic (Arkwright, Barraclough and the Yorkshire terrier) with...

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