HC Deb 09 January 2001 vol 360 c504W
Mr. Clappison

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commnonwealth Affairs if he will list for(a) 1996–97, (b) 1997–98, (c) 1998–99, (d) 1999–2000 and (e) 2000–01, (i) his Department's total spending on advertising campaigns, (ii) the cost of each individual advertising campaign and (iii) the criteria that were established to gauge the effectiveness of each campaign; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of each campaign based on these criteria. [142722]

Mr. Hain

In 1997–98 we spent £1 million on a publicity campaign to reduce the number of ticketless fans travelling to France for the World Cup Finals and to explain what consular services were available. Independent monitoring of the campaign showed that it had been effective in increasing awareness among fans of the dangers of travelling without tickets. Before our campaign, 13 per cent. of our target audience said they were likely or very likely to travel to France for the World Cup in the hope of getting into a game with a ticket bought on the black market. After the campaign, those saying they would still travel dropped to 6 per cent. The Foreign and Commnonwealth Office did not undertake any advertising campaigns in 1996–97, 1998–99 and 1999–2000, and to date has not done so in 2000–01.