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Cabinet Office
Billboards telling the public to ‘prepare’ for Britain’s exit from the EU will launch in the coming days
An information campaign urging the public to “get ready for Brexit” has been launched by the government.
The campaign began on Sunday with the launch of a website, gov.uk/brexit.
Billboards and social media adverts will appear in the coming days and TV adverts will air later this month.
Michael Gove, who is in charge of no-deal plans, said the adverts encourage “shared responsibility” for preparing to leave the EU on 31 October.
It has been reported that the campaign could cost as much as £100m as ministers seek to inform people what they might need to do, if anything, ahead of the deadline.
Benedict Pringle, author of the politicaladvertising.co.uk blog, said that, if true, the £100m budget would be roughly double what The National Lottery spends on advertising each year.
“So if you think about how often you see a lottery advert and double it, that’s how much we could be seeing the campaign over the next two months,” he told the BBC.
“At football grounds, in advert breaks for Coronation Street and The Great British Bake Off, this is where you’ll get the biggest reach with the public.”
An image showing one of the campaign’s billboards was issued by the Cabinet Office ahead of their roll out this week.
Leaflets, online seminars, and information stands at events will also be used.
British citizens who are intending to travel to Europe and businesses which export to the EU are among the specific groups targeted by the campaign.
The campaign encourages people and businesses to visit the government website to answer questions and receive advice on preparing for Brexit.
Announcing the launch, Mr Gove said ensuring the UK left the EU in an orderly manner was “not only a matter of national importance, but a shared responsibility”.
Mr Gove was earlier criticised by a retail trade association for claiming there would be no shortages of fresh food in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
The British Retail Consortium said Mr Gove’s assertion on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show that “there will be no shortages of fresh food” was “categorically untrue”.
