Pro-euro movement hunts for ad agency

The European Movement, the pro-European pressure group campaigning on behalf of the Euro, is looking for an advertising agency.

The group is planning to launch an above- and below-the-line campaign to persuade a sceptical public of the benefits of the single currency.

The campaign is expected to start in 1999 in advance of the British referendum on the Euro, which is likely to take place at the end of 2001 or 2002.

A spokesman for the Movement says: “We want to inform people about the Euro and the benefits of joining. The single currency cannot be talked about in isolation and this campaign will encompass broader issues.”

The spokesman refused to say how much the group will spend, saying only that the campaign will be “in the millions”.

A number of UK senior executives and companies are backing the Movement, including Niall Fitzgerald, chairman of Unilever.

Grey Direct was appointed by the European Movement to handle a direct response campaign in March last year.

The group is said to have approached Lisa I’Anson, the Radio 1 disc jockey, to act as a spokesperson, but this has been denied.