MINISTERS have been warned against using God, golf, children or Sean Connery to promote Scotland overseas.

The blunt advice "Don’t mention God in the US" was given to the government as it was developing its £6m Scotland is Now campaign, which launched in April.

It followed an apparently innocuous reference to Scotland’s role in the hunt for the elusive Higgs Boson, or “God particle”, named after the Edinburgh-based physicist Sir Peter Higgs.

The phrase was dropped after a blistering report from a Brighton-based firm of media consultants, which was published yesterday on the Scottish Government website.

There was also brutal criticism of a boast in the draft campaign that Scotland had produced arguably the best James Bond in Sir Sean Connery.

That was dismissed as “obtuse” and “facile” when compared to another boast about Scotland helping to develop the world’s first cancer vaccine.

“How is that an achievement?” was the summary of the “best 007” claim.

Ministers were also told images of children could deter potential visitors.

A list of “don’ts” included “children put people off (avoid on holiday)”, and while a shot of a castle was considered essential, the advice declared “children can be a negative”.

Golf was also “polarising”, with “minority appeal”, and an over-familiar image of Scotland.

The 110-page “insight findings” were released under Freedom of Information law.

Produced by Lucid People (UK) Ltd, they gave feedback and advice on an early version of the promotional campaign now being aimed at in North America, London and China.

A joint project by ministers, VisitScotland, Universities Scotland and Scottish Development International, the aim was to show Scotland as a great place to visit, study, work and invest.

The original plan was also to “kick-start an advocacy-driven movement” that would lead people round the world to view Scotland “as a great brand”.

However the media consultants said large parts of the draft campaign, which initially considered using the slogan “Scotland’s Calling” or “Go Scotland”, were a duds.

Messages aimed at visitors were the most successful, followed by those for businesses.

But the research found many people were left “confused, disengaged and/or irritated” by efforts to build a Scottish “brand”, including a film featuring Austin Powers star Mike Myers.

Out of character, Mr Myers was “not recognised by many” of those on whom the material was tested, and the film left people struggling to understand it, “even after explanation”.

The ‘brand’ material was “unclear”, “self-congratulatory” and too focused on the past.

When appealing to investors, ministers were advised to “avoid too many ‘high brow’ science refs” and not “assume US target will be able to distinguish British (even European) accents”.

The June 2017 findings were used to hone the campaign ahead of its launch this year, when Nicola Sturgeon declared it would “inspire people to be part of Scotland’s future”.

The report also revealed some of the image problems facing Scotland.

Among the starting perceptions in the US were “castles and fog” and “nothing to do”.

Meanwhile one UK person tested said: “Scotland is dry. Not literally but emotionally. Sitting in a pub. Walking and hiking. Going and seeing a castle and getting drunk.”

Another UK contributor said: “Grey and rainy. Windy and miserable. And not much culture.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: "Scotland is Now is a successful campaign to stimulate economic growth and position Scotland as a bold and positive country that is progressive, pioneering and inclusive.

“As with all our campaigns, we worked with partners on many ideas and concepts to ensure a successful launch. This particular testing was undertaken at a very early stage, and many further iterations of the campaign followed with a variety of ideas coming and going as the final concept crystallised.”