The RNLI’s campaign focuses on the years of experience of its voluntary lifeboat crews who know how unpredictable the sea can be. They are trained to put their lifejacket on and ensure it is correctly fitted whenever they go aboard a lifeboat, whether out on a shout or in training, whatever the weather.

‘If you always wear your lifejacket it will buy you vital time in an emergency and could mean the difference between life and death,' said John Donaghy, the RNLI voluntary crew member who appears in the campaign advertisement.

The advertisements will run in a range of boating media from July through to October issues including Yachting Monthly, Practical Boat Owner, Sailing Today, Motor Boat & Yachting, RIB International and the RYA magazine amongst others.

While the RNLI wouldn’t say how much was being spent on this campaign, the organisation spent £3.1m on prevention campaigns in 2006, so this campaign is likely to be very well funded.

The advertisements carry details of how readers can get advice on choosing the right lifejacket for their purposes, with 0800 telephone numbers and the URL of a special section of the RNLI’s website.