Summer

A major part of the EMB’s seven years of activity were poster campaigns directed by Frank Pick who had overseen highly successful advertising schemes and brand development for the London Underground. Around 800 different designs were commissioned. The artists were paid very well and, in some cases, sent on trips to West Africa to sketch people and landscapes for the poster designs. Around 27,000 schools were on the mailing list to receive new posters as they were issued and at its peak, 1800 advertising hoardings were rented around the country for their display. The EMB folded in 1933 having spent most of its money on the poster campaigns, almost half a million pounds in total (around £23 million today), leading to questions over its value for money and efficacy overall. The Empire Marketing Board archives are held at the National Archives at Kew who note that: ‘The actual impact of the Empire Marketing Board posters was difficult to estimate even at the time, due to the very broad objectives of the Board and the lack of any systematic method of surveying the population.’