One of the important rules about advertising and sales promotion is to get the message across in as striking way possible. You have to grab the prospective customer’s attention with an arresting image or statement. Relevance, accuracy and factuality are desirable but not essential! Things (details) must be kept to a minimum and sparing use of text is essential. What you have to say must be said in few words (the fewer the better) and above all, they must have impact as you want the prospective customer to remember them. A catchy jingle can help. For instance, in the 1950s and 1960 there was a carpet cleaner with the brand name “1001” and the jingle went; “One thousand and one cleans a big, big, carpet for less than half a crown!” To our younger readers, “half a crown” equated to 12.5 pence, or “New Pence” as they were once called. I was a little boy when that jingle was heard through the old Philips black and white TV and it has stuck in my mind all these years. Not that I have ever bought any 1001 carpet cleaner!
Which is why we have created the image above of Madame!
The image has been created to make a number of points: Firstly it’s sheer outrageousness! To portray the UK’s second female Prime Minister dressed as a dominatrix purporting to arrive at a venue for a meeting. Secondly, that it is a complete fantasy. The young lady whose body it is was 24 when the photograph was taken and Madame is 62. With all the Botox injections, dieting, plastic surgery and foundation wear, Madame would be unable to walk into a summit meeting looking like that! It is as much a fantasy as the idea that a “Hard Brexit” will not be catastrophic to the British economy!
Which is why we have created and published the image! To try and get it into the thick heads of ERG Tory MPs and their UKIP backing group that if they want the UK to “Brexit” then they have to vote through Madame’s dreadful deal. Because it is the ONLY way of leaving the EU whilst keeping the economy intact! It is the “Hobson’s Choice” of withdrawal agreements or the Henry Ford choice of colour for his famous Model T (You can ANY colour you want! As long as it’s black).
As Doctor Richard North states in his blog-post today (http://eureferendum.com/blogview.aspx?blogno=87158): “You can’t necessarily assume that Mrs May knows what she’s doing – there have been no signs of that so far. But, at least, we now know what she intends to do.”
The phrase “running down the clock” will have entered the British English language by April Fool’s Day 2019!
Of course, were by some miracle the Withdrawal Agreement to be approved by the House of Commons tomorrow, it could NOT be put into effect by 11PM on Friday 29th March 2019. There is not enough time! Therefore IF the UK is to leave the EU with a deal, then it CANNOT leave on that day! That means an Article 50 extension.
The British Gazette’s Editor differs from Doctor North however in that we feel that what has become known as “the Kyle Amendment” where MPs approve the withdrawal deal but make it subject to a confirming referendum with the option of an Article 50 revocation is now likely to garner most support in a bitterly divided Commons. The ERG and many Tories will be against it. As will the DUP. However ALL SNP, Independent Group and Lib-Dem MPs will vote for it as will many Labour MPs.
IF there is a second referendum it is a racing certainty that the EU27 will agree to extend whatever time is necessary for the vote to take place.
The other thing that is CERTAIN – whatever happens – is the presence of a lot of political pain!
Speaking the Truth unto the Nation
