Beverley Pilkington and Her Famous Pro-Europe T-Shirt

Beverley Pilkington, a British model from Essex, gained widespread attention for wearing a Pro-Europe white tee shirt with the catchy slogan “Europe or bust!” during the 1975 referendum on Britain’s continued membership of the European Economic Community. Her provocative ads for Big D nuts helped the company achieve skyrocketing sales, and her campaign to persuade Britons to stay in Europe proved equally effective.

Most voters supported continued membership in the EEC, cementing Britain’s place in the European community and preserving its ties to the rest of the continent. Interestingly, this issue resurfaced decades later but had a different outcome as Brexit in 2020.