Brits to be told to 'get ready' for Brexit in £100m government advertising blitz
2 min read
People will be warned to "Get Ready" for Brexit on 31 October in a £100m government advertising blitz, it has emerged.
According to The Times, Michael Gove, the Cabinet minister in charge of the Government's preparations for a no-deal Brexit, has signed off on the campaign and it will be launched next week.
However, a plan to repeat the 'Take Back Control' slogan used by the Vote Leave campaign in the 2016 referendum was rejected, the paper said.
Billboards and a government website will be used to kick off the campaign, which is aimed at ensuring members of the public and businesses are ready for the UK leaving the EU at Hallowe'en with or without a deal.
Radio and TV adverts could also follow in the weeks leading up to exit day.
The Government has even ordered t-shirts and mugs emblazoned with the 'Get Ready' message ahead of its launch, The Times said.
Theresa May also ordered an advertising campaign in the run-up to the 29 March Brexit deadline, but it was far more low-key than what the Government is now planning.
Boris Johnson first mooted his plans for a high-profile ad blitz during the Tory leadership campaign.
He said: "What we will do, is we will encourage people in a very positive way. From the get-go, we start saying, ‘Look, what do you need, what help do you need, what reassurances do you need?’
"Agricultural farmers in Wales . . . fishermen, everybody, just-in-time supply chains, here is what the Government has for you, are you ready?
"And we make sure that everybody understands all the risks and eventualities, and it’s by doing that . . . in a really wholehearted and systematic and confident way, that you, of course, minimise any disruption that might take place in the unlikely eventuality of you having to come out on WTO [World Trade Organisation] terms."
Details of the advertising campaign emerged as Boris Johnson called for negotiators to "up the tempo" in their attempts to strike a new Brexit deal.
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