UK government spends £100m on 'Brexit ready' campaign

The move is seen as an effort by the British government to rally people to support and prepare for leaving the European Union (EU) on October 31.

Billboards with the slogan "Get ready for Brexit". Photo: Guardian

The media campaign, called “Get Ready for Brexit,” began with simultaneous advertising on large screens in shopping malls and public places with high traffic in the capital London.

Social media and press coverage of the Brexit deadline will then follow, with the campaign urging the public to visit the UK government website to check what they need to do to prepare for a no-deal Brexit.

With the campaign costing £100m, doubts have been raised about whether the government can really afford a two-month campaign.

A source at a leading advertising agency pointed out that the figure was significantly higher than the amount spent on traditional advertising in the UK in the whole of 2018 by major consumer brands such as Amazon, Tesco, Asda.

“This suggests the government is exaggerating the amount of money it intends to spend in an attempt to gain publicity,” the source said. Meanwhile, Michael Gove, who has been tasked with drawing up a no-deal Brexit plan for Prime Minister Boris Johnson, said a no-deal Brexit was a “very real prospect”.

Mr Gove pointed out that the £100m was absolutely necessary, as there was still a gaping lack of understanding about the scale of Brexit, with 42% of small and medium-sized businesses still unsure about how they could prepare for Brexit and only a third of the British public interested in and seeking information about what they needed to do between now and the deadline.

According to The Times, a significant order has been placed from ministries and departments for a large number of mugs and T-shirts printed with the slogan “Get ready”, while also proposing the use of the slogan “Vote Leave”.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson stressed that what the government needs is to motivate people "in a positive way", and declared that he would expel MPs from the ruling Conservative Party if they "joined hands" with opposition parties to oppose the no-deal Brexit process.