Get ready for Brexit ad campaign by Engine launches, reported to cost £100m

The reported £100 million advertising campaign commissioned by UK prime minister Boris Johnson to prepare the UK public for Brexit has launched today, created by international creative agency Engine. The pared-back, text-based campaign is running across billboards, print, TV and social media, and centres on the tagline “Get ready for Brexit” in red, white and blue, leading people to the government’s dedicated Brexit website. There, an online survey leads visitors – members of the public and business owners alike – through a Brexit checker to inform them of any actions that need to be taken before 31 October 2019, when the UK is scheduled to leave the EU.

This comes five days after Johnson announced he will suspend the UK parliament in the run-up to Brexit, which prompted demonstrations across the country over the weekend where thousands of people protested the decision. It also follows a crowdfunded, alternative, “honest” campaign by activists Led By Donkeys to put up billboard posters featuring previous statements made by members of parliament, discrediting a No Deal Brexit.

In announcing the campaign’s imminent arrival last week, Michael Gove said that “Ensuring an orderly Brexit is not only a matter of national importance, but a shared responsibility,” hence encouraging people to find out for themselves via the website what they need to do to prepare.

The government is backing up its reasoning for the campaign, the largest ever government public information drive, with research that showed only 50% of the population think it’s likely the UK will leave the EU on 31 October. The report also showed 42% of small-to-medium sized businesses are unsure of how they can get ready and just 31% of the British public have looked for information on how to prepare for Brexit.

Engine’s European arm counts huge global companies such as Unilever, Nestle, Disney, Coca-Cola and American Express among its clients.