Don’t mention Bond or golf, media consultants told SNP

SCOTTISH ministers were warned not to talk about golf or Sean Connery when promoting Scotland overseas.

The advice, given to the Scottish Government as it developed its £6million “Scotland is Now” tourism campaign, also suggested it would be best to avoid God when in the United States.

Golf was said to be “polarising” and with “minority appeal” in a report from a Brighton-based media consultancy.

It also criticised a boast in draft campaign literature that Scotland had arguably produced the best James Bond, in Sean Connery. The comment was described as “obtuse” and “facile” when compared to another item about Scotland helping to develop the world’s first cancer vaccine.

The reference to God appeared in an apparently innocuous line about Scotland’s role in the hunt for the Higgs Boson, or “God particle”, which was named after the Edinburgh University physicist Sir Peter Higgs.

According to The Herald, ministers were also told that images of children could deter potential visitors.

The 110-page “insight findings”, produced by Lucid People (UK) Ltd, and released under Freedom of Information law, advises on an early version of the promotional campaign aimed at North America, London and China.

The aim of the joint project by ministers, Visitscotland, Universities Scotland and Scottish Development International was to show Scotland as a “great brand”. But the researchers suggested many people were left “confused, disengaged and/or irritated”.

The June 2017 findings were used to hone the campaign ahead of its launch this year. A spokesman for the Scottish Government said the campaign was a successful bid to stimulate economic growth and position Scotland as a “bold and positive country that is progressive, pioneering and inclusive”.