Dee resigned in 1997, and he was replaced in 1998 with a cardboard cut-out known as the "No Nonsense Man", from the GGT advertising agency. [79] Despite appearing in over 20,000 pubs, clubs and shops, No Nonsense Man was found to have less of an impact than the Dee advertisements. [74] [79] An early campaign used a series of parodies of Jona Lewie's " Stop the Cavalry" generally extolling "yer mate called Smith."

The company's association with television advertising began in 1971 with the "Yorkshiremen love it" campaign. [74]

Promotional Marketing Council: Bronze (Event Marketing), Silver (Sponsorship/Joint Effort/Tie-in/Innovative Idea or Concept), IMC European Awards 2008 John Smith's Cask (3.8% ABV). Available nationwide, but most often found around the brewery's Yorkshire heartland. Ellis, Aytoun (1953). Yorkshire Magnet. Tadcaster. p.58. {{ cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher ( link) a b c d e Wilson, R.G. (2007). "Smith, John". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (onlineed.). Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/ref:odnb/94650 . Retrieved 19 August 2011. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.) (subscription required)

By the turn of the century the brewery was considered to be one of the best-run in Britain, "a byword for first-class management". [6] In 1907, John Marples of Sheffield, the wines and spirits distributor, was acquired. [16] The company began to bottle its own beer in Tadcaster from 1907. [17] In 1912, the company owned over 250 horses, 41 of which saw service during the First World War. [18] Artificially carbonated beer was first bottled in 1923. [19] Paired horse drays were phased out by 1929. [18] During and for some time after the World Wars, the Government raised the duty on beer, and forced brewers to lower their beer strength. [20] During this period, substitutes for malted barley had to be used for brewing, including flaked barley, oats and rye. [20] The firm expanded throughout the 1880s by creating an agency network, establishing sixteen offices in nearby settlements, and offering free trade discounts on their beer of 20 per cent or higher. [6] The brewery had an annual output of 150,000 barrels by 1889. [11] In 1889, the company's first scientifically-trained head brewer was appointed, Percy Clinch, son of Charles Clinch of the Eagle Brewery in Witney. [12] In 1892, the partnership became a limited company called John Smith's Tadcaster Brewery Company Limited, with Henry Herbert Riley-Smith as chairman. [13] In 1899 the company acquired Simpson & Co of Market Weighton, with 51 public houses, and converted the brewery into a maltings. [14] [15] Chrystal, Paul; Sunderland, Mark (2010). Tadcaster Through Time. Amberley Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4456-3127-1.a b c d Pudney, John (1971). "14". A draught of contentment: the story of the Courage Group. New English Library. ISBN 9780450009945 . Retrieved 4 September 2012.

John Smith's Brewery in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, England, produces beers including John Smith's, the highest selling bitter in the United Kingdom since the mid-1990s. Ellis, Aytoun (1953). Yorkshire Magnet. Tadcaster. p.36. {{ cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher ( link) a b Gibbs, Geoffrey (1 December 1987). "Courage deal gives extra strength to Mansfield". The Guardian. The John Smith's Grand National Information Guide 2005" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 May 2006 . Retrieved 13 September 2012.One Hundred Years:: A History of John Smith's, 1847–1947. Tadcaster: John Smith's Tadcaster Brewery Company Ltd. 1948. p.38. Joseph, Sebastian (26 November 2012). "John Smith's ends Grand National sponsorship". Marketing Week . Retrieved 26 November 2012. Gourvish, Terry; Wilson, Richard G. (September 2003). The Dynamics of the Modern Brewing Industry. Taylor & Francis. p.99. ISBN 978-0-203-44069-8 . Retrieved 24 July 2013.