The copy clearance process
Advertising agencies submit pre-production scripts to Clearcast before any significant expense is incurred in the production of a TV commercial. [4] The process of script submissions is to reduce the risk of agencies spending a significant outlay on a TV commercial which is later rejected because it is unacceptable. Once submitted, the agency's allocated copy group executive will give initial comments on the script, detailing broadcast timing restrictions, advice on appropriate use of specific shots or imagery and requesting substantiation. Substantiation must be submitted where a claim is made in a broadcast commercial. An agency will then adapt the script (because it does not comply with broadcast standards or contains a claim which cannot be corroborated) and submit relevant substantiation documents to the Clearcast executive.
A process of second-reading then takes place, whereby the executive may request further information or approve the script.
Once a script submission is accepted, an agency will produce a final (or 'clocked') TV commercial, which also needs to be submitted for approval to Clearcast. The agency must then submit the 'clocked' ad digitally via FTP using the digital copy clearance system (CopyCentral).
Once received and ingested into the Clearcast system, the ad is first checked for 'supers', a process which measures the height (in television lines) of required legal text ('the small print') to ensure it complies. The legal text height is 16 TV lines, measured on a flat-topped, lower case letter; anything less than this will be rejected. Legal text is also timed to ensure it is legible to the viewer.
Some ads fail at this point, and the agency is forced to modify the legal text in order to ensure it complies in terms of line height and duration on screen. After this stage, the ad is subjected to a Harding test (also known as a flash test), which ensures it will not cause sufferers of photosensitive epilepsy to have seizures. [5]
Subsequently, the commercial is screened by a traffic assistant, who checks the ad and guarantees that the accompanying post-production script and relevant consignment details are comprehensive, valid and correct. Consignment details include relevant music, artists' names and voice-over names.
Once this process is complete, the ad is allocated to the relevant copy group executive, where it is viewed and placed 'on the reel' for the following day's morning meeting. The term 'on the reel' relates to a viewing which takes place every morning at 10 am, in which a group of executives view each commercial and pass comments on whether it complies with the BCAP code (the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice). Most ads comply (because they are produced as per the initial script), but this viewing serves as a way of spotting otherwise unforeseen problems, such as music which is not permitted or a style of editing which does not show the product in an accurate light. It is at this point that any relevant restrictions (for instance on timing) are applied to the commercial.
After the morning meeting (which usually ends at 11:30 am), the copy group return to their desks and pass on feedback to the agencies involved and approve compliant commercials.
The same process also applies to video-on-demand (VoD) commercials that are destined for services provided by Clearcast's shareholders, as well as Virgin Media. [6]
Other activities
Working with Peach Media (previously IMD), Clearcast manage the Attribution service which links advertiser, agency and product category metadata with Broadcasters' Audience Research Board (BARB) data on brands advertised on TV.
They also commission the CARIA service from Peach Media. [7] CARIA is a system developed and owned by Peach Media, part of Peach video on which airtime bookings are confirmed to Sales Houses by advertising agencies and on which copy to be used for each booking is specified - it is widely used across UK & Ireland.
They also run a Training Programme which is CPD Certified and IPA recognised that runs courses for agencies, advertisers and broadcasters to help them get to grips with advertising rules and how to work within them.
In 2010, Clearcast launched an online flash test in partnership with Cambridge Research Systems Ltd. who develop the Hardings flash testing technology.
In 2012, Clearcast launched three new services under the Clearcast Plus banner: Copy Development, TV Admin and Editing. [7]
In 2019, Clearcast launched a Fast Track service that guarantees feedback on your script or video submission within 24 hours.
Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a specific good or service, but there are wide range of uses, the most common being the commercial advertisement.
A television advertisement is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization. It conveys a message promoting, and aiming to market, a product, service or idea. Advertisers and marketers may refer to television commercials as TVCs.
"Cog" is a British television and cinema advertisement launched by Honda in 2003 to promote the seventh-generation Accord line of cars. It follows the convention of a Rube Goldberg machine, utilizing a chain of colliding parts taken from a disassembled Accord. Wieden+Kennedy developed a £6 million marketing campaign around "Cog" and its partner pieces, "Sense" and "Everyday", broadcast later in the year. The piece itself was produced on a budget of £1 million by Partizan Midi-Minuit. Antoine Bardou-Jacquet directed the seven-month production, contracting The Mill to handle post-production. The 120-second final cut of "Cog" was broadcast on British television on 6 April 2003, during a commercial break in ITV's coverage of the 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix.
An infomercial is a form of television commercial that resembles regular TV programming yet is intended to promote or sell a product, service or idea. It generally includes a toll-free telephone number or website. Most often used as a form of direct response television (DRTV), they are often program-length commercials, and are typically 28:30 or 58:30 minutes in length. Infomercials are also known as paid programming. This phenomenon started in the United States, where infomercials were typically shown overnight, outside peak prime time hours for commercial broadcasters. Some television stations chose to air infomercials as an alternative to the former practice of signing off, while other channels air infomercials 24 hours a day. Some stations also choose to air infomercials during the daytime hours, mostly on weekends, to fill in for unscheduled network or syndicated programming. By 2009, most infomercial spending in the U.S. occurred outside of the traditional overnight hours. Stations in most countries around the world have instituted similar media structures. The infomercial industry is worth over $200 billion.
Elaeis is a genus of palms containing two species, called oil palms. They are used in commercial agriculture in the production of palm oil. The African oil palm E. guineensis is the principal source of palm oil. It is native to west and southwest Africa, occurring between Angola and Gambia. The American oil palm E. oleifera is native to tropical Central and South America, and is used locally for oil production.
A digital video recorder (DVR) is an electronic device that records video in a digital format to a disk drive, USB flash drive, SD memory card, SSD or other local or networked mass storage device. The term includes set-top boxes (STB) with direct to disk recording, portable media players and TV gateways with recording capability, and digital camcorders. Personal computers are often connected to video capture devices and used as DVRs; in such cases the application software used to record video is an integral part of the DVR. Many DVRs are classified as consumer electronic devices; such devices may alternatively be referred to as personal video recorders (PVRs), particularly in Canada. Similar small devices with built-in displays and SSD support may be used for professional film or video production, as these recorders often do not have the limitations that built-in recorders in cameras have, offering wider codec support, the removal of recording time limitations and higher bitrates.
Iceland Foods Ltd, trading as Iceland, is a British supermarket chain headquartered in Deeside, Wales. It mainly sells frozen foods, including prepared meals and vegetables, alongside non-frozen grocery items such as produce, meat, dairy and dry goods. The company also operates a chain of shops called The Food Warehouse.
The Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre (BACC) was a non-governmental organisation which until the end of 2007 pre-approved most British television advertising. The work of the BACC has been taken over by Clearcast.
Online advertising, also known as online marketing, Internet advertising, digital advertising or web advertising, is a form of marketing and advertising that uses the Internet to promote products and services to audiences and platform users. Online advertising includes email marketing, search engine marketing (SEM), social media marketing, many types of display advertising, and mobile advertising. Advertisements are increasingly being delivered via automated software systems operating across multiple websites, media services and platforms, known as programmatic advertising.
In the United States, commercial radio stations make most of their revenue by selling airtime to be used for running 'radio advertisements'. These advertisements are the result of a business or a service providing a valuable consideration, usually money, in exchange for the station airing their commercial or mentioning them on air. The most common advertisements are "spot commercials", which normally last for no more than one minute, and longer programs, commonly running up to one hour, known as "informercials".
Super Bowl commercials, colloquially known as Super Bowl ads, are high-profile television commercials featured in the U.S. television broadcast of the Super Bowl, the championship game of the National Football League (NFL). Super Bowl commercials have become a cultural phenomenon of their own alongside the game itself, as many viewers only watch the game to see the commercials. Many Super Bowl advertisements have become well known because of their cinematographic quality, unpredictability, surreal humor, and use of special effects. The use of celebrity cameos has also been common in Super Bowl ads. Some commercials airing during, or proposed to air during the game, have also attracted controversy due to the nature of their content.
The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) represents the marketing community in the United States. Its headquarters is in New York City and it has another office in Washington, D.C. ANA's membership includes over 600 companies with 25,000 brands that collectively spend over 400 billion dollars in marketing communications and advertising.
Apple Inc. has had many notable advertisements since the 1980s. The "1984" Super Bowl commercial introduced the original Macintosh mimicking imagery from George Orwell's 1984. The 1990s Think Different campaign linked Apple to famous social figures such as John Lennon and Mahatma Gandhi, while also introducing "Think Different" as a new slogan for the company. Other popular advertising campaigns include the 2000s "iPod People", the 2002 Switch campaign, and most recently the Get a Mac campaign which ran from 2006 to 2009.
Anticipation is an Irish advertisement launched by Guinness plc in 1994 to promote Guinness-brand draught stout. The advert, which appeared in print, posters, and cinema and television spots, was conceived by Irish advertising agency Arks, and starred relatively unknown Irish actor Joe McKinney as the 'Dancing Man' and Gordon Winter as the barman. It was the final part of the "Guinness Time" advertising campaign, which had been running in Ireland since the late 1980s.
The term Harding test is generically understood to mean an automatic test for photosensitive epilepsy (PSE) provocative image sequences in television content. This is properly known as a PSE test since the publication of the Digital Production Partnership (DPP) technical requirements and the DPP PSE Devices document updated in November 2018.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is the self-regulatory organisation of the advertising industry in the United Kingdom. The ASA is a non-statutory organisation and so cannot interpret or enforce legislation. However, its code of advertising practice broadly reflects legislation in many instances. The ASA is not funded by the British government, but by a levy on the advertising industry.
Mother is an advertising agency with offices in London, New York, Los Angeles, Shanghai, Singapore and Berlin.
Radiocentre is the industry body for commercial radio in the UK. It exists to maintain and build a strong and successful commercial radio industry. The organisation works on behalf of over 40 stakeholders who operate over 300 licensed radio stations across the UK and represent 90% of commercial radio in terms of listening and revenue.
Federal responsibility for Canadian food labelling requirements is shared between two departments, Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). All labelling information that is provided on food labels or in advertisements, as required by legislation, must be accurate, truthful and not misleading. Ingredient lists must accurately reflect the contents and their relative proportions in a food. Nutrition facts tables must accurately reflect the amount of a nutrient present in a food. Net quantity declarations must accurately reflect the amount of food in the package. Certain claims, such as those relating to nutrient content, organic, kosher, halal and certain disease-risk reduction claims, are subject to specific regulatory requirements in addition to the prohibitions in the various acts. For claims that are not subject to specific regulatory requirements, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and/or Health Canada provide interpretive guidance that assist industry in compliance.
TV advertising delivery describes the process of getting an ad to air on television. The workflow usually involves the advertisers, creative agencies, post-production houses, media agencies, advertising delivery specialists & broadcasters.
