became bored if they went on for too long (EW4/71: 180). Even more bizarrely, HMG thought the typical British consumer was irrational: Our impression is that “foreign goods” (Italian shoes, French cars, Scandinavian furniture), are often bought as a symbol of affluence and prestige and not because they are better value than our own products. It is possible a campaign could help to counter this irrational element in consumer (EW 4/71: 138) buying’ A campaign which drew attention to the difference between British and foreign goods might raise sales of the a symbol of affluence, many people are inclined latter, ‘as to go for what is foreign; and to mark goods in could well be “Made Britain” until this general attitude can be changed. Concern was also expressed that such a campaign be understood as implying that domestic products are inferior to ‘may imported goods and therefore need an artificial boost. It may give the impression that the Government is But HMG Ministers appear to have taken a taking desperate measures’. diametrically products should always be bought when they are of opposite view: ‘British good value even if their prestige is less than that of goods from overseas’ (This statement is bizarre and shows a complete lack of knowledge of even the basic economics driving purchasing decision). The Nationalised Industries appeared to offer some salvation for a (NI’s), ‘Buy campaign, especially because Britain no longer possessed an empire and British’ therefore its ability to rely on imperial sentiment to support this campaign was reduced. In any case, share of industrial exports to Australia, New Zealand, Britain’s countries’ and South Africa, between 1962 and 1976, declined by the biggest magnitude compared to her shares of exports to other countries. This reinforces the perspective that the empire was not a In addition, because of their public ownership, they represented ‘soft’ market’. a more captive market which could be used to enforce a campaign. Viewed ‘Buy British’ from this perspective, the were a more attractive bet compared to the uncertainties of NI’s
became bored if they went on for too long (EW4/71: 180). Even more bizarrely, HMG thought the typical British consumer was irrational: Our impression is that “foreign goods” (Italian shoes, French cars, Scandinavian furniture), are often bought as a symbol of affluence and prestige and not because they are better value than our own products. It is possible a campaign could help to counter this irrational element in consumer buying’ (EW 4/71: 138) A campaign which drew attention to the difference between British and foreign goods might raise sales of the latter, ‘as a symbol of affluence, many people are inclined to go for what is foreign; and to mark goods “Made in Britain” could well be until this general attitude can be changed. Concern was also expressed that such a campaign ‘may be understood as implying that domestic products are inferior to imported goods and therefore need an artificial boost. It may give the impression that the Government is taking desperate measures’. But HMG Ministers appear to have taken a diametrically opposite view: ‘British products should always be bought when they are of good value even if their prestige is less than that of goods from overseas’ (This statement is bizarre and shows a complete lack of knowledge of even the basic economics driving purchasing decision). The Nationalised Industries (NI’s), appeared to offer some salvation for a ‘Buy British’ campaign, especially because Britain no longer possessed an empire and therefore its ability to rely on imperial sentiment to support this campaign was reduced. In any case, Britain’s share of industrial countries’ exports to Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, between 1962 and 1976, declined by the biggest magnitude compared to her shares of exports to other countries. This reinforces the perspective that the empire was not a ‘soft’ market’. In addition, because of their public ownership, they represented a more captive market which could be used to enforce a ‘Buy British’ campaign. Viewed from this perspective, the NI’s were a more attractive bet compared to the uncertainties of
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