Buy British
Buy British was a campaign launched in November 1931 with which the British government tried during the Great Depression from 1929 to regain balance of payments equilibrium without immediately resorting to protectionist import tariffs . The campaign was led by the Empire Marketing Board . She used previously developed advertising and public relations techniques and relied on voluntary support from third parties. A trade balance , a stable British currency ( pound sterling ) and other things were promised .
The campaign had limited and temporary effects, although it was technically efficient.
prehistory
When industrialization began in other European countries at the end of the 19th century , attempts were made in Great Britain to identify supposedly inferior products (such as imitation products ) by labeling imported goods . The British Merchandise Marks Act 1887 of 23 August 1887 required goods to be clearly labeled with the country of origin . This should enable British buyers to identify imported goods - especially those from the continent - which were generally considered to be of poor quality. In 1891 the “Madrid Agreement on the Suppression of False Indications of Origin on Goods” was agreed. Many other countries are adopting this labeling requirement.
The labeling requirement continued after the First World War. “ Made in Germany ” increasingly seemed like a seal of quality ; the negatively intended product labeling had the opposite effect of what was actually intended.
Others
In 1968 there was a brief patriotic campaign called I'm Backing Britain . It started spontaneously when five secretaries in the London borough of Surbiton began working half an hour longer every day, voluntarily and unpaid, and asking others to do the same. This got a huge response and within a week it became a nationwide social movement ('movement'). The unions were skeptical. Some suspected the campaign of stealthily extending working hours and helping to mask inefficiency in management.
After a few months it became apparent that the campaign had no impact on individual companies or on the economy in general; interest waned; Disappointment and anger spread. The campaign is well known in the UK to this day and is seen as an example of a failed attempt to improve the prospects or opportunities of the UK economy .
As part of I'm Backing Britain , Robert Maxwell tried to launch a 'Buy British!' Campaign in 1968.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Stephen Constantine, (1987) "The Buy British Campaign of 1931" , European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 21 Iss: 4, pp.44 - 59 (case study)
- ↑ For more details see here