BOARD OF TRADE: REPORT ON RATIONING OF CLOTHING CAMPAIGN.

At the end of a meeting on the Limitation of Supplies Order advertising on May 2nd, Francis Meynell took me aside and asked if I would come down and see him to discuss another very secret campaign which they had under consideration. He asked that I would handle this personally, as it was essential that the matter should be treated as highly confidential. I agreed and the 14th May attended a meeting at which were present Richmond Temple, Somerville, Watkinson and Francis Meynell.

I was asked if I could book in all the Sunday papers of June 1st four full column spaces for a campaign of the first importance. I pointed out that it was exceedingly difficult to get a half triple advertisement in the 8-page papers now being published. I suggested that it might be possible to obtain the 16” x 4 columns space if the other Government Departments could be persuaded to withhold their advertising on June 1st. They thought 16” x 4 columns would meet the case and undertook to approach all the other Government Departments concerned, with a view to getting them to cancel their space. They asked also that we should book 16” x 4 columns in the Daily papers (Nationals, Provincial Mornings and Evenings) on Monday and Tuesday, June 2nd and 3rd. In 4-page papers, space of this size is clearly an impossibility and I persuaded them to agree to a half triple column, again on the understanding that they would persuade other Government Departments to withhold their announcements. They did not disclose the subject of the advertising and I pointed out that this would be a serious embarrassment to us in our negotiations with the newspapers.

I took no action with, regard to booking space, partly because it was work which should be done through a competent advertising agency and also because, at that time, I did not feel confident that the scheme was going forward. In any case, in view of the secrecy which had to be maintained, the later the booking could be left the better. (You will remember that I reported to you verbally at this stage).

Subsequently you will recall at a meeting in your room, attended by Somerville, Watkinson and Hicklin, the B.O.I asked us to approach, the other Government Departments. This we did and all agreed to help us by withholding all advertising on June 1, 2 and 3. On 20th May the Advisory Committee on the appointment of advertising agents appointed the Advertising Service Guild to handle the campaign. Financial authorisation having been obtained on May 27th, the Guild were instructed to start booking space for the three days, June 1st, 2nd and 3rd, on Monday, May 26th as follows:-

Great difficulty was experienced by the Guild in buying space in these large sizes, particularly in the case of the National Sundays and the National Dailies. I called personally on the Advertisement Directors of Associated Newspapers (Sunday Dispatch, Daily Mail, Evening News), Express Newspapers (Sunday Express, Daily Express, Evening Standard). Daily Mirror group (Sunday Pictorial, Daily Mirror) and Allied Newspaper (Sunday Graphic, Daily Sketch, etc.). I found it impossible to persuade them to give me more than a half triple column without disclosing the subject of the advertisements. Accordingly, after some negotiation with the Board of Trade. I obtained authority to disclose the subject in confidence where necessary. This entailed a further round of the newspaper offices which was successful in obtaining the desired space, except in the Sunday Express and the Sunday Despatch, where 13” x 4 columns was the best I could do.

Meanwhile the advertisements were being set up by the Confidential Composing Room of H.M.S.O. at Harrow. As is frequently the case in campaigns of this character, a considerable number of revisions were necessary, with the result that the various sizes of advertisements required did not start going to foundry for casting until the very last minute.

To preserve secrecy, arrangements were made for the Provincial Sunday papers and the Provincial editions of London Sunday papers to be supplied with plates by the R.I.Os in the regions concerned. For example, Manchester received in all 6 plates for the Sunday papers which they were to have held until 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 31st.

Unfortunately some of the plates went astray on rail, possibly due to the blitz in the N.W. during the night of May 30 - 31, those due in Glasgow and Plymouth falling to turn up at all. Accordingly, during the Saturday morning of May 31st, I phoned the R.I.O. Manchester and got him to open the parcel of plates get two new stereos cast by the Sunday Express Manchester office and put them on passenger train to Glasgow. As an additional safeguard I had the copy teleprinted to Glasgow and phoned the deputy R.I.O. there details of the typesetting instructions. As regards 123 -3-Plymouth, we managed to get a spare stereo on to the 1.30 train from Paddington (wiring the Press Officer at Plymouth to that effect). Further difficulties arose in connection with the stereos for Monday's papers. For some unexplained reasons the Manchester plates which were properly addressed, were delivered in Glasgow. However, the various steps taken proved effective and all the required editions of the papers duly carried the advertisement, The actual packing of the stereos was handled by four senior officers of this Division, in order that the greatest possible degree of secrecy should be maintained.

Reviewing the whole campaign it becomes abundantly clear that the view which we expressed at our meeting with the Beard of Trade in Mr. John Rodgers room on Monday, 26th May was fully justified. The news value of the announcement of Clothes Rationing was, as we anticipated, sufficient to make it a front page story in every newspaper. Again we were correct in our estimate that the story would hold for a considerable time. Even now, practically a week after the announcement, it is still news.

All the necessary detailed information on the scheme could have been got to the public through a Post Office house to house distribution of suitable literature and this, plus the editorial treatment given to the subject, would have ensured adequate publicity. It might have been necessary to do a small amount of press advertising drawing attention to the importance of the leaflet which would have been delivered by the postman, but so far as actual cash outlay is concerned, the whole thing could have been done for between £7 - £8,000. This is an excellent example of the way Departments frequently approach us with a cut-and-dried scheme on which a considerable amount of the tax-payer's money could have been saved had we been called in for consultation in the very earliest stages. The expenditure on press advertising to date is approximately £20,000 and I understand that the Board of Trade have asked for the insertion of a further advertisement in all Daily and Evening newspapers throughout the country on Tuesday next week, involving a further outlay of some £3,000. In view of the fact that the announcement contains information for which newspaper readers are known by editors to be clamouring, we could well save this money and handle the whole thing in the editorial columns.

6th June, 1941

(Sgd) W.G. VAUGHAN .