Advertising & Sponsorship Guidelines

Transcription

1 Advertising & Sponsorship Guidelines January 2010

2 Advertising and Sponsorship Guidelines 2

3 January 2010 CONTENTS 1. Introduction About the guidelines Compliance process Advice and interpretation 7 2. Principles for Advertising and Sponsorship relationships Legal, decent, honest and truthful The Reputation of the BBC Editorial Independence Separation Transparency The BBC Brand 9 3. Prohibited categories of Advertising and Sponsorship Political and controversial issues Pornography and sexual services (such as escort agencies) Religion Tobacco products Weapons Additional prohibited categories around content aimed at children Categories of Advertising and Sponsorship with specific rules Adhesives and aerosols Alcoholic drinks and products that contain alcohol Betting, gaming, gambling, casinos and lotteries Charities and non-governmental organisations Contraceptives Cosmetic surgery Dating services (including dating agencies and matrimonial or introduction agencies) Feminine hygiene products Financial products and services Fireworks Food and drinks Governments and government agencies Health and beauty products Lobby groups Matches and fire lighters Medicines and medical or personal advice The occult Political parties and groups Pornography Religious organisations and bodies Telephone and text services Tobacco products, smoking accessories and tobacco manufacturers Toiletries and cosmetics Toy guns and toy weapons Vitamins and dietary supplements Weapons and weapons manufacturers Style and content of advertising General rules Television advertising Online advertising Magazine advertising Content syndication and distribution arrangements Sponsorship General rules Television sponsorship Online sponsorship Magazine sponsorship Content syndication arrangements 44 3

4 Advertising and Sponsorship Guidelines 6.6 Events and exhibitions sponsorship Joint Promotions Choosing a partner for a joint promotion List of Referrals Referrals To Advertising Standards Guardian Referrals to Editorial Directors Referrals to BBC talent Managers Referrals to Global Brand Commercial Directors Referrals to the Editorial Director for BBC World News Referrals to BBC Worldwide Commercial Policy or the relevant Editorial Director for BBC World News Referrals to BBC Editorial Policy Contacts BBC Worldwide Commercial Policy BBC World News Editorial Directors BBC Editorial Policy Business areas 53 4

5 January INTRODUCTION Advertising is important to any commercial service. If executed well, it provides funding and can enhance a consumer s experience by adding to the editorial proposition. However, if executed badly, it can be a reputational risk and cause future commercial relationships to be put in jeopardy. To protect the BBC s global reputation and ensure our editorial independence is maintained, these guidelines have been written. They set out what advertising and sponsorship relationships are acceptable around the BBC brand. They relate not only to BBC commercial services, but to any BBC branded products incorporated into a third-party s commercial service. They apply in addition to the relevant advertising regulations of a territory (such as the Advertising Standards Authority CAP and BCAP codes in the UK). In determining what is acceptable in a territory, consideration should be given to local market practice - the BBC should always seek to position itself at the top end of market best practice. These guidelines should be applied in the spirit as well as the letter. That means that commonsense should be applied. A strict legal interpretation should not be used to justify taking an advertisement which the guidelines intended to stop. Similarly, an unreasonable interpretation should not be used to prohibit something which is clearly in line with the intention of the guidelines. January

6 Advertising and Sponsorship Guidelines 1.1 ABOUT THE GUIDELINES These guidelines apply to advertising and sponsorship placed around all BBC Worldwide and BBC World News content, whether provided directly to the consumer or through a syndication arrangement. This includes syndicated channels on websites such as YouTube and sponsorship on UKTV. The guidelines have been approved by the BBC Worldwide Executive Board, the BBC World News Board and the BBC Editorial Standards Board. They supersede all previous advertising and sponsorship guidelines. Additional guidance on interpretation is included in boxes. This additional guidance has been produced by BBC Worldwide Commercial Policy in consultation with the Editorial Director of BBC World News and BBC Editorial Policy. 1.2 COMPLIANCE PROCESS The primary responsibility for ensuring advertising complies with these guidelines and other regulations rests with business areas. Each business has a designated Advertising Standards Guardian (or ASG) who takes particular responsibility for ensuring advertising complies with these guidelines. They are responsible for keeping a record of all the referrals and approvals made within the business. If you are unsure, you should refer, in the first instance, to your ASG. The more important or contentious an issue, the higher the onward referral needs to be. Ultimately, Editorial Directors and Managing Directors take responsibility for all editorial decisions taken in their business. On certain issues there is a mandatory referral to your ASG. And in some cases the ASG will need to make an onward referral. Referrals to your ASG which will require them to make onward referral are shown in bold. Details of referrals that an ASG will need to make to individuals outside of their business are included in purple boxes. Lists of all referrals can be found in section 8. All these referrals must be followed before the advertising is published or broadcast. But in some cases, noted in these guidelines, the referral must be followed before the advertising booking is accepted. Where you have to refer to your ASG, you should allow time for this to happen ahead of any deadlines; you should not expect approval immediately. However, all referrals should normally receive a response within two working days. Where this does not happen, you should escalate the matter to your Editorial Director. Details of the ASG and Editorial Director for each business area can be found in section

7 January ADVICE AND INTERPRETATION There are also a number of sources of advice, both within the business and outside: For BBC Worldwide businesses and joint-ventures, BBCW Commercial Policy can provide advice about these guidelines, as can your divisional Editorial Leader; For BBC World News, the Editorial Director can provide advice about these guidelines. For both companies, BBC Editorial Policy can provide further advice, although this should normally be sought through BBC Worldwide Commercial Policy or the Editorial Director of BBC World News. In some cases there is a requirement to consult Chief Adviser, Editorial Policy. Contact details can be found in section 9. Business and Legal Affairs can provide advice about the wider regulatory framework and what rules and regulations need to be followed in each territory. Outside of the business, regulatory bodies often provide confidential advice services: for example, in the UK the Advertising Standards Authority can give advice on the interpretation of the CAP Code. Any proposal to step outside these guidelines must be referred in advance to BBC Worldwide Commercial Policy or the relevant Editorial Director for BBC World News. In either case they will consult Chief Adviser, BBC Editorial Policy. 7

8 Advertising and Sponsorship Guidelines 2. PRINCIPLES FOR ADVERTISING AND SPONSORSHIP RELATIONSHIPS The following principles apply to all advertising, advertisement features, sponsorship and joint promotion arrangements: 2.1 LEGAL, DECENT, HONEST AND TRUTHFUL All advertising must be legal, decent, honest and truthful. To be legal, advertising must comply with the laws, regulations or market practices of the relevant territory. To be decent, advertising must not offend against good taste or decency. Advertising should avoid salacious or indecent themes and should not include any sexual innuendo or stereotyping which is likely to cause serious or widespread offence. Advertising should avoid offensive and profane language. Care should be taken to avoid causing offence on the grounds of race, religion, disability or sexual orientation. Advertising should not promote smoking or exploit children. It should not play on fear unless it is clearly in the public interest to do so e.g. as part of a drink driving campaign. To be honest, advertising must not exploit the credulity, lack of knowledge or inexperience of consumers. To be truthful, advertising must not make false claims or mislead consumers. The regulatory frameworks in the UK, North America and Australia, require advertising to be legal, decent, honest and truthful. Compliance with these local regulations fulfils our requirement for advertising to be legal and honest. 2.2 THE REPUTATION OF THE BBC All advertising should meet consumer expectations of the BBC brand. It should: be suitable for the target audience; not bring, or potentially bring, the BBC into disrepute; not jeopardise the good reputation of the BBC or the value of the BBC Brand; not give rise to doubts about the integrity and impartiality of the BBC or its programmes and content; and avoid giving the appearance of trivialising serious editorial content. Advertising can be humorous and contain jokes, but care should be taken when such ads are to appear around serious editorial content, for example around news or factual content. 8

9 January EDITORIAL INDEPENDENCE The BBC must retain editorial control and responsibility for all editorial content. Advertising or sponsorship must not give the impression that the commercial relationship has affected our editorial content. 2.4 SEPARATION All advertising should be clearly presented as commercial content, distinct and separated from editorial content. Product Placement The BBC Editorial Guidelines prohibit Product Placement using or mentioning a sponsor s product or service in return for payment on all BBC (or BBC Worldwide or BBC World News) services and in our publications. In exceptional circumstances, in territories where Product Placement is legal, any proposal to step outside the BBC Editorial Guidelines by including it in our programmes or services must be approved in advance by either BBC Worldwide Commercial Policy or the relevant Editorial Director for BBC World News. They must seek exceptional approval from Chief Adviser, BBC Editorial Policy. 2.5 TRANSPARENCY The nature of the commercial relationship must be transparent and clear to consumers. Subliminal advertising is not allowed. Advertising and sponsorship arrangements should always be clear to consumers, which may mean that content needs to be labelled to avoid doubt. 2.6 THE BBC BRAND Advertising must not give the impression of BBC endorsement, nor should it give the impression that it is editorial content or emulate BBC programmes or other BBC content. The BBC Brand must not be used to endorse any outside companies or organisations. The BBC name, logos, titles, channel names, programme titles, formats, characters, sets, music or catchphrases should not be used by commercial advertisers (except in joint promotions, see section 7). 9

10 Advertising and Sponsorship Guidelines 3. PROHIBITED CATEGORIES OF ADVERTISING AND SPONSORSHIP The following categories of advertising must not be carried in or around any BBC products and services. This includes advertisement features (see section 5.1.4) and sponsorship (see section 6). 3.1 POLITICAL AND CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES To ensure the BBC s impartiality is maintained, advertising of a political nature is not allowed. This includes advertising: by or on behalf of any body whose objects are wholly or mainly of a political nature; which may be directed towards any political end; which may have any relation to any industrial dispute; which may show partiality as respects matters of political or industrial controversy or relating to current public policy. (Source: BCAP Television Advertising Code section 4) Also to ensure the BBC s impartiality is maintained, advertising which advocates or promotes a particular view in relation to a controversial issue is not allowed. In determining whether subjects are controversial, we should take account of: the level of public and political contention and debate; how topical the subjects are; sensitivity in terms of relevant audiences beliefs and culture; whether the subjects are matters of intense debate or importance in a particular nation, region or discrete area likely to comprise at least a part of the audience; a reasonable view on whether the subjects are serious; the distinction between matters grounded in fact and those which are a matter of opinion. (Source: BBC Editorial Guidelines) Advertising of a political or controversial nature includes any advertising for products or services which advocate or promote a particular view relating to any form of politics. In addition to political parties, advertising of a political or controversial nature can also include advertising by governments, charities and international organisations where their message is of a political or controversial nature. For example, advertising for a campaign to ban foxhunting or to oppose airport expansion, or advertising by a government department about controversial immunisation programmes would not be allowed. Any form of advertising which includes an endorsement by a politician would not normally be acceptable. See section 4.4 for more detail on Charities and non-governmental organisations, section 4.12 on Governments and government agencies, section 4.14 on Lobby groups and section 4.18 on Political parties and groups. 10

11 January PORNOGRAPHY AND SEXUAL SERVICES (SUCH AS ESCORT AGENCIES) Advertising for pornography (such as R18 videos), sex chat lines, sexually explicit publications and websites, sex toys and sexual services is not allowed. Advertising for escort agencies is not allowed. See section 4.19 for further guidance on Pornography and section 4.7 for further guidance on Dating services (including dating agencies and matrimonial or introduction agencies). 3.3 RELIGION To ensure the BBC s impartiality is maintained, advertising by religious organisations and bodies or the occult is not allowed See section 4.20 for further guidance on Religious organisations and bodies and section 4.17 for further guidance on the occult. 3.4 TOBACCO PRODUCTS Advertising for tobacco products, tobacco manufacturers and any smoking accessories (including rolling papers and lighters) is not allowed. See section 4.22 for further guidance on Tobacco products, smoking accessories and tobacco manufacturers. 3.5 WEAPONS Advertising for weapons, replica weapons, weapons manufacturers, arms fairs and gun clubs is not allowed. See section 4.26 for further guidance on Weapons and weapons manufacturers. 11

12 Advertising and Sponsorship Guidelines 3.6 ADDITIONAL PROHIBITED CATEGORIES AROUND CONTENT AIMED AT CHILDREN The BBC is a trusted provider of content for children. As such, we have a responsibility to ensure that advertising around this content is appropriate and does not encourage children to undertake harmful activities. In determining what advertising is appropriate around children s content, the age of the target audience should be taken into account. For the purpose of these guidelines, children should be taken to mean all children and young people under the age of 18. The following categories of advertising may not be carried in or around any BBC products and services aimed at children: Advertising for any products or services which it would be unsafe for an unsupervised child to use; Advertising for all alcoholic drinks and any product that contains alcohol (such as liqueur chocolates); Advertising for betting, gaming, gambling, casinos and lotteries; Advertising for cosmetic surgery; Advertising for dating services (including dating agencies and matrimonial or introduction agencies); Advertising for dietary supplements; Advertising for fireworks; Advertising for any product or service relating to the Occult (including services of a clear entertainment nature.) See section 4.17 for further guidance on the occult; Advertising for toy guns. See section 4.24 for further guidance on Toy guns and toy weapons; Advertising for over the counter or prescription medicines; Advertising aimed at children, for products and services which they cannot purchase, such as lottery tickets. In some cases advertising around content aimed at very young children may be directed towards the carer rather than the children. Care should be taken to ensure the advertising is still appropriate for a children s audience. None of the prohibited categories of advertising above may appear. However it may be possible to advertise other products or services which a child cannot legally purchase or consume. For example, advertising for a college savings fund, or for a credit card, aimed at the carer rather than the child could be acceptable. However, advertising for a lottery would be inappropriate (in the UK, children under 16 cannot purchase lottery tickets). As would advertising for cinema tickets for a film classified as unsuitable for under 15s. 12

13 January CATEGORIES OF ADVERTISING AND SPONSORSHIP WITH SPECIFIC RULES Advertising for the following categories requires care and consideration. Further advice and details of the procedures that need to be followed is contained under the relevant heading. These restrictions apply in addition to any laws, regulations or market practice in the relevant territory. Where a restriction applies to advertising, this restriction also applies to advertisement features, sponsorship and joint promotions, unless otherwise stated. 4.1 ADHESIVES AND AEROSOLS Advertising for products which include adhesives or aerosols can be sensitive when placed around content aimed at children. Depending on the target age group, advertising for products including adhesives or aerosols may be acceptable if the product only contains a small amount of adhesive or aerosol which could not harm a child. In content aimed at children, such advertising must be referred to the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian. 4.2 ALCOHOLIC DRINKS AND PRODUCTS THAT CONTAIN ALCOHOL In many territories restrictions apply to the advertising, sale or consumption of alcohol products (including alcopops and liqueur chocolates). In addition, due care should be paid to the likely target audience and the sensitivities in the territories where these advertisements may be displayed Alcoholic drinks advertising and content aimed at children On television and on-line, advertising for alcoholic drinks and products that contain alcohol should not be scheduled around any programme or content that might attract a large children s audience. This includes sponsorship of programmes scheduled next to programmes likely to appeal to children. In print, advertising for alcoholic drinks and products that contain alcohol is not permitted in content aimed at children, for examples children s magazines. In all media, sponsorship by alcohol brands and companies whose name is directly linked to an alcohol brand is not permitted for content aimed at children or very likely to appeal to children. Content that might attract a large children s audience is not limited to simply content aimed at children. It includes family content, such as Doctor Who or Dancing with the Stars. 13

14 Advertising and Sponsorship Guidelines 4.3 BETTING, GAMING, GAMBLING, CASINOS AND LOTTERIES In many territories restrictions apply to advertising for betting, gaming, gambling, casinos and lotteries. All such advertising must be referred to the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian who should ensure it complies with local regulations. Advertising for betting, gaming, gambling, casinos and lotteries is not allowed around content aimed at children The National Lottery (in the UK) The National Lottery is an institution regulated by an Act of Parliament. It interests millions of BBC viewers who either buy lottery tickets or who are recipients of Lottery grants. National Lottery draws are national events and the BBC covers these draws as a service to viewers and listeners. However, the BBC does not promote the Lottery or directly promote the purchase of Lottery tickets or cards. If any advertising is carried for the National Lottery there must be no mention of BBC programming or presenters that cover the lottery draw in the advertisement. Advertising for the National Lottery is not allowed around content aimed at children because children under 16 cannot purchase lottery tickets. Sponsorship by the National Lottery will not normally be acceptable. The ASG must refer any proposal for sponsorship by the National Lottery to BBC Worldwide Commercial Policy or the relevant Editorial Director for BBC World News. They will consult Chief Adviser, BBC Editorial Policy Scratch cards (inserted into BBC publications) The BBC does not run scratch cards of its own. We do not carry scratch cards in our children s and teen titles and we would not normally carry text-to-win or phone-to-win scratch cards in any of our titles. Any proposal to do so must be referred to the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian. The ASG must refer any such proposal to BBC Worldwide Commercial Policy or the relevant Editorial Director for BBC World News. 14

15 January CHARITIES AND NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS The BBC brand must not be used to endorse or promote third parties. The BBC s Editorial Guidelines state that we have a duty to remain impartial; we should strive to reflect a wide range of opinion on current affairs or matters of public policy. For these reasons, any advertising for charities (as well as non-governmental organisations or NGOs) must also be handled carefully. Advertising may be acceptable where the charity is unlikely to bring the BBC into disrepute and their charitable message does not contain any political or lobbying calls to action. They may contain simple factual information about the aims of the charity, and donation and fundraising messages. They should not contain political messages or direct calls for lobbying action, for example, calls to petition a Member of Parliament. The landing page of any website referenced in the advertisement should not prominently feature any political messages or direct calls for lobbying action. Care should be taken over the positioning of such advertisements around editorial content. Advertising by charities and NGOs should not appear directly alongside editorial content about subject matters on which the group has an interest (except where such advertising is being served randomly on a website). Such juxtapositions could raise questions about the impartiality of the BBC. For example, an advertisement in BBC Wildlife magazine for an anti-fur charity directly adjacent to an opinion piece by an anti-fur campaigner could give the perception that the magazine favoured an anti-fur stance. All such advertising must be referred to the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian to ensure it is suitable for the relevant BBC product or service. Sponsorship by and Joint Promotions with charities will rarely be accepted. Any proposal for charity sponsorship or Joint Promotions must be referred to the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian. See also section 4.12 on Governments and government agencies section 4.14 on Lobby groups and section 4.18 on Political parties and groups. 4.5 CONTRACEPTIVES Due care should be paid to the likely target audience and the sensitivities of the territories in which this advertising will appear. All such advertising must be referred to the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian to ensure it is suitable for the relevant BBC product or service. 4.6 COSMETIC SURGERY Advertising for cosmetic surgery is not allowed around content aimed at children. 15

16 Advertising and Sponsorship Guidelines 4.7 DATING SERVICES (INCLUDING DATING AGENCIES AND MATRIMONIAL OR INTRODUCTION AGENCIES) Advertising for dating services and dating agencies is acceptable where this is of a non-sexual nature. Particular care should be taken with advertising for online dating listing services to ensure the nature of the service is appropriate. Advertising for matrimonial and introduction agencies may be acceptable in countries where arranged marriages are the norm, but only after careful vetting. Advertising for escort agencies or sex chat lines is not allowed. All advertising by dating services (including matrimonial and introduction agencies) must be referred to the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian to ensure it is suitable for the relevant BBC product or service. Advertising for any form of dating agency is not allowed around content aimed at children. Advertising by dating services which imply any form of sexual service is not acceptable. Websites associated with dating services should be checked to ensure the service is of a suitable non-sexual nature. 4.8 FEMININE HYGIENE PRODUCTS Due care should be paid to the likely target audience and the sensitivities of the territories in which such advertising may appear. All such advertising must be referred to the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian to ensure it is suitable for the relevant BBC product or service. 4.9 FINANCIAL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES In many territories restrictions apply to advertising for financial services. All such advertising must be referred to the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian who should ensure it complies with local regulations. On television, advertising for financial services which has been approved by Clearcast (or an equivalent compliance service) may not necessarily need to be referred to the ASG. Online and in publications in the UK, advertising for financial services which has been cleared by the CAP Copy Advice Service may not necessarily need to be referred to the ASG FIREWORKS Advertising for fireworks is not allowed around content aimed at children FOOD AND DRINKS 16 Advertising for unhealthy food and drinks is not allowed around content aimed at children. Therefore, in content aimed at children all advertising for food and drinks must be referred to the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian to ensure it is appropriate for the target audience.

17 January GOVERNMENTS AND GOVERNMENT AGENCIES The BBC strives to be impartial and cannot support, endorse or promote any particular political group or view. Advertising for governments and government agencies must be handled with great care to ensure that the reputation of the BBC as an impartial newsgathering organisation cannot be questioned. For example, government advertising around climate change may be controversial and therefore not suitable. Advertising may be acceptable for some government and government agency initiatives where it does not give rise to concern about the BBC s impartiality. Examples include: Safety Campaigns such as Firework safety or Drink Driving campaigns Information Campaigns such as those about annual tax returns, industry kite mark schemes, recommended alcohol limits or entry visa requirements Tourism agencies, such as the Yorkshire Tourism Board or the Cyprus Tourism Office Advertisements of a commercial nature such as for DVLA personalised number plates Care should also be taken regarding the execution of such advertisements in order not to make them appear to campaign or to promote contentious viewpoints. All proposals to accept government or government agency advertising must be referred to the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian who should ensure it is suitable for the relevant BBC product or service. The Advertising Standards Guardian must also approve the final creative. Advertisement features and sponsorship by governments and government agencies is not normally allowed except sponsorship by a government funded tourism or trade board/organisation. All such proposals must be referred to the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian. The ASG must refer any proposal for advertisement features or sponsorship by governments and government agencies (excluding government funded tourism or trade board/organisation) to BBC Worldwide Commercial Policy or the relevant Editorial Director for BBC World News who will make onward referral to BBC Editorial Policy. See also section 4.4 on Charities and non-governmental organisations, section 4.14 on Lobby groups and section 4.18 on Political parties and groups. 17

18 Advertising and Sponsorship Guidelines Governments and Government Agencies advertising in content aimed a children Advertising for Governments or Government Agencies will very rarely be acceptable around content aimed at children. Exceptions may be where they contain generic non-controversial campaigns, such as health information. relevant Advertising Standards Guardian. All such advertising must be referred to the 4.13 HEALTH AND BEAUTY PRODUCTS Advertising for health and beauty products around content aimed at children must be referred to the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian to ensure it is appropriate for the target audience LOBBY GROUPS Advertising by lobby groups will rarely be accepted and only when there is no political or lobbying calls to action and no implication of BBC endorsement. All such advertising must be referred to the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian to ensure it complies with local regulations and is suitable for the relevant BBC product or service. See also section 4.4 on Charities and non-governmental organisations, section 4.12 on Governments and government agencies and section 4.18 on Political parties and groups MATCHES AND FIRE LIGHTERS Advertising for products including matches and fire lighters around content aimed at children must be referred to the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian to ensure it is appropriate for the target audience MEDICINES AND MEDICAL OR PERSONAL ADVICE In many territories restrictions apply to advertising for medicines or for medical and personal advice. All such advertising must be referred to the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian to ensure it complies with local regulations and is suitable for the relevant BBC product or service. Advertising for over the counter or prescription medicines is not allowed around content aimed at children. Sponsorship is not allowed by agencies, institutions or services offering advice on personal or consumer problems. 18

19 January THE OCCULT Advertising that is designed to promote the occult is not allowed. See section 3.3. However, in content not aimed at children, advertising for services such as horoscopes or tarot card readings which are of a clear entertainment nature may be acceptable. All such advertising should be referred to the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian to ensure that it is of an appropriate entertainment nature and is suitable for the relevant BBC product or service POLITICAL PARTIES AND GROUPS The BBC is impartial and cannot support, endorse or promote any particular political group or view. Political groups are organisations which advance a particular policy or support the election of individuals. Advertising is not allowed for political parties or political groups. This includes all advertising soliciting support for any person (or organisation) running for any publicly elected office or for any political doctrine. Messages of a political nature can include: Advertising that represents the views of a group or individual whose aim is to affect any aspect of government or public policy; Advertising designed to attract members to join such a group or individual; Advertising that disguises advocacy for a political view by appealing for charitable funds, funds to support religious or social activities etc.; and Advertising by lobbies or pressure groups relating to medical conditions or soliciting money for cures and/or treatments, e.g. persuading government to change spending priorities in health care. See also section 4.4 on Charities and non-governmental organisations section 4.12 on Governments and government agencies and section 4.14 on Lobby groups PORNOGRAPHY Advertising for pornography (such as R18 videos), sex chat lines, sexually explicit publications and websites, sexual products and services is not allowed. See section

20 Advertising and Sponsorship Guidelines 4.20 RELIGIOUS ORGANISATIONS AND BODIES Advertising by religious organisations and bodies is not allowed. This includes advertising that is designed to promote any religion, cults and/or sects; advertising for products or services which advocate or promote a particular religious or cult view. Advertising of a non-religious nature which includes reference to religion may be allowed. For example a holiday brochure which includes a small number of religious holidays amongst a wider group of activities. All such advertising must be referred to the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian. See section TELEPHONE AND TEXT SERVICES Advertising for premium rate telephone and text services around content aimed at children must be referred to the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian to ensure it is suitable for the relevant BBC product or service TOBACCO PRODUCTS, SMOKING ACCESSORIES AND TOBACCO MANUFACTURERS To protect the reputation of the BBC brand, advertising for tobacco products, tobacco manufacturers and any smoking accessories (including rolling papers and lighters) is not allowed. Where a tobacco manufacturer also manufactures non smoking-related goods, advertising for such goods may be permissible. In such circumstance the advertising should not give the impression of promoting smoking products or of being seen as a backdoor route to tobacco advertising. All such advertising must be referred to the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian. See section TOILETRIES AND COSMETICS Advertising for toiletries and cosmetics around content aimed at children must be referred to the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian to ensure it is appropriate for the target audience TOY GUNS AND TOY WEAPONS Advertising for toy guns is not allowed around content aimed at children. Advertising for any other form of toy weapon (such as water pistols) around content aimed at children must be referred to the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian to ensure it is appropriate for the target audience. 20

21 January VITAMINS AND DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS Advertising for dietary supplements is not allowed around content aimed at children. Advertising for vitamins may be acceptable around content aimed at children where the product is not labelled keep out of the reach of children. All such advertising must be referred to the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian to ensure it is suitable for the relevant BBC product or service WEAPONS AND WEAPONS MANUFACTURERS To protect the reputation of the BBC brand, advertising for weapons, replica weapons, weapons manufacturers, arms fairs and gun clubs is not allowed. This includes self-defence protection devices such as mace sprays. Advertising for antique weapons that are clearly presented as antique, collectable items, and not working models, may be acceptable. All such advertising must be referred to the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian to ensure it is suitable for the relevant BBC product or service. A weapons manufacturer who is also a manufacturer of a range of other products could be allowed to advertise those other products, so long as there are no links or references in the advertisement to any weapons. All such advertising must be referred to the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian. Advertisement features for, and sponsorship by, any type of weapon is not allowed. See also section 3.5 and section 4.24 for Toy guns and toy weapons. 21

22 Advertising and Sponsorship Guidelines 5. STYLE AND CONTENT OF ADVERTISING 5.1 GENERAL RULES This section applies to all advertising, whether on television, online or in a magazine Environmental claims Advertising that makes environmental claims, for example engine performance or environmental sustainability, must comply with the relevant local regulations. Any advertising with an environmental dimension, message or information (whether this is the principle purpose of the advertising or not) is likely to be subject to extremely detailed regulatory scrutiny. On television, all such advertisements must be referred to the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian who should ensure it complies with the relevant local regulations. Online and in publications, in cases of doubt, such advertisements should be referred to the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian who can seek advice from Business & Legal Affairs in the relevant territory to ensure that it complies with the relevant local regulations. In the UK, under the BCAP code the broadcaster is liable for the content of an advertisement so we must ensure it complies with the relevant regulations about environmental claims. However, under the CAP code responsibility rests primarily with the advertiser Promotions and Competitions Any third-party promotions or competitions must comply with local regulations. It should be clear to consumers that the BBC (and BBC Worldwide or BBC World News) are not the promoter and are not responsible for the operation of the promotion or competition. See section 7 for Joint Promotions 22

23 January Advertisements around content aimed at children Advertising should be suitable for the target audience, that is, it should not contain any material which would not be suitable for an unsupervised child to use. Advertising should not promote directly to children any product that would pose a safety risk to them. For example, products labelled keep out of the reach of children. Advertisements should not: contain anything that is likely to result in the physical, mental or moral harm of children; encourage children to copy any practice that might be unsafe for a child. It should not contain behaviour that is likely to be easily imitable by children in a manner that is dangerous. For example, advertisements should not depict children in hazardous situations or behaving dangerously such as crossing a main road without appropriate adult supervision; encourage children to enter strange places or talk/communicate with strangers. For example, advertisements should not encourage children to use websites which are not suitably moderated; contain offensive or profane language; suggest that a child is inferior or unpopular for not buying a particular product; seek to exploit children s credulity, loyalty, vulnerability or lack of experience; actively encourage children to replace main meals with unhealthy snack foods. Due consideration should be given to local custom and market best practice. Advertisements that involve promotions should not: encourage excessive purchases in order to participate in the promotion; exaggerate the value of any prizes on offer, or the chances of winning them. 23

24 Advertising and Sponsorship Guidelines Advertisement features Advertisement features, as the name implies, are advertisements that are presented as editorial content. They are paid for by the advertiser and under their control. They are normally written and designed by editorial staff, but must remain distinct from the editorial content, such that the consumer knows it is an advertisement feature and not editorial. Advertisement features should: be informative and interesting, and add value for the reader; avoid implying endorsement of the product by the BBC and should not feature any recognisable BBC content; not influence, or reasonably be perceived to have influenced, editorial content; be labelled clearly and prominently Advertisement Feature. Misleading labels such as Advertisement Promotion or Advertorial must not be used. In fact the use of product logos in the advertisement feature is a good way of indicating that the content is advertising and not editorial; not include any BBC names, logos, titles, channel names, programme titles, formats or characters; only include BBC talent where written confirmation has been obtained from the talent (or their agent) that there is no conflict with their work for the public service and that they have the necessary permission to undertake the work (if appropriate). Care must be taken to ensure that readers do not mistake an advertisement feature for part of the editorial content of the publication or website. In particular, they should not run on from the editorial content. Magazine or website staff and regular contributors should not be given a by-line for any advertisement feature they write, nor should they be featured by name or photograph. Instructions, practical advice or recipes within the advertisement feature must be approved by the website or publication s experts. All advertisement features must be referred to the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian who must ensure the magazine or website editor has approved the content. The final responsibility for approving advertisement features, like editorial content, rests with the editor. Teleshopping should not be treated as an advertisement feature. 24

25 January TELEVISION ADVERTISING This section applies to all television advertising including television on demand services and online streaming of broadcast channels. For audiovisual advertising on websites, see section 5.3 on Online advertising Advertising should be clearly separated from editorial content. It must only run in commercial breaks. In many territories there are restrictions about the total minutes per hour of advertising that may be broadcast. In content aimed at children, the break patterns for each channel must be agreed with the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian. In content aimed at children, the ASG must agree the break patterns for each channel with BBC Worldwide Commercial Policy. In the EU, UK based channels must comply with the Ofcom Code on scheduling of TV advertising, which can be found at together with the BCAP Code, which can be found at Ad Avails An Ad Avail is an advertising block on a television channel which is under the editorial control of a distributor or platform provider (sometimes referred to as an affiliate). Such adverts are often described as local ad avails and are frequently for local advertisers. Ad Avails should not normally include advertising for any of the prohibited categories of advertising listed in section 3. However, is some territories, regulatory or contractual arrangements may mean that the BBC will have little or no control over such advertising as it is deemed to be under the control of the distributor or platform provider. Any such arrangement which would not prohibit all the categories of advertising listed in section 3 must be agreed with the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian. The ASG must refer any such proposal to BBC Worldwide Commercial Policy or the relevant Editorial Director for BBC World News. They will consult BBC Editorial Policy Infomercials Infomercials, or programme length advertisements, are not allowed within BBC services. Programme length should generally be regarded as longer than five minutes. 25

26 Advertising and Sponsorship Guidelines 5.3 ONLINE ADVERTISING This section applies to all online advertising including audiovisual pre, mid or post-roll advertising. It also applies to advertising on mobile devices. On bbc.com/news advertising should not materially interrupt the relationship between the user and the editorial content without the user s permission. Users should normally signal intent before receiving more intrusive forms of advertising (e.g. click or hover to initiate). Any proposed exceptions must be referred to the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian. On all websites, no more than four display advertisements may appear on any page (this does not include partner buttons, functionality sponsorship or any other sponsorship credits) Advertisement formats Animation Animation is allowed in advertisements. Advertisements should seek to comply with the relevant accessibility guidelines and industry standards (for example the Interactive Advertising Bureau guidelines in the UK). Care should be taken to ensure that the overall effect of all animation of a page does not trivialise the editorial content Ad wash Ad wash (interaction between two or more advertisements on a page) is allowed. However special care is required about the suitability of such treatments on bbc.com/news pages. Any advertising using ad wash must be referred to the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian Expandable advertisements Expandable advertisements are allowed provided they only expand when initiated by the user or, for push-down advertising, when the page loads. Any expandable advertising must be referred to the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian. On bbc.com/news, expandable advertisements should only expand on user initiation or mouse over and should not cover more than 50% of the page above the fold (at standard screen resolution). No expandable advertising should cover over brand or navigation. The ASG may allow larger expandable advertisements if it is deemed they do not distract from editorial content Pop-up, pop-under, interstitial and floating advertisements Pop-up, pop-under, interstitial and floating advertisements are not normally permitted. Any such advertising must be referred to the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian. 26

27 January Audiovisual advertising Templates for the duration of audiovisual pre, mid and post-roll advertising for each service must be agreed in advance. Such proposals should be referred to the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian BBC.com Advertising Governance Committee For bbc.com/news the BBC.com Advertising Governance Committee may determine additional safeguarding to protect the BBC News brand Page or section takeovers A takeover is where an advertiser buys all the available advertising space. It is distinct from sponsorship because no form of credit can be given (e.g. In Association with ). Any such arrangement must be time-limited to ensure that there is no implication of BBC endorsement of the third party. On bbc.com/news such arrangements must be referred to the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian. On other websites, any takeover for a duration of more than 36 hours must be referred to the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian. In any circumstance a page or section takeover must not be for more than 21 days. The advertiser may not be referred to within the content, or given any form of credit (unlike a sponsor, see section 6 for Sponsorship). A takeover advertiser may be related to the editorial content. For example, a TopGear.com section could take a car manufacturer; and a GoodFood.com feature could take a food manufacturer as a sole advertiser; however care should be taken to ensure that this deal does not raise questions about our editorial independence Contextual Advertising On bbc.com/news: Advertising may not be sold against a specific story or page. All proposals to place advertisements against key words should be referred to the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian to ensure they do not breach these principles. Advertisers may not pay to advertise specifically alongside stories about themselves or their competitors. Where this occurs randomly, the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian shall decide whether the advertisement is editorially damaging and needs to be removed. On all websites, contextual text advertising (such as Google AdSense) is allowed, provided no prohibited categories of advertising (see section 3) are served. 27

28 Advertising and Sponsorship Guidelines Behavioural Advertising Online behavioural advertising (OBA) is intended to make online display advertising more relevant to users likely interests. Providers of OBA create audience segments based on web sites visited over a period of time with a particular browser. These audience segments are then used to provide relevant advertising to users within that segment. For example, a user may visit sports sites often and thus be categorised in the sports fan segment. They would then be served advertisements that are relevant to the interests of a sports fan. Any proposal to use behavioural advertising should be referred to BBC Worldwide Commercial Policy or the relevant Editorial Director for BBC World News, who will ensure that it complies with industry good practice Data protection All advertising must comply with local data protection regulations (such as the Data Protection Act in the UK), which controls how personal information is gathered and stored by companies. Particular care must be taken with children s personal details. Any advertising that proposes to collect personal information from the user should be referred to the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian to ensure that is complies with the relevant data protection regulations. Advice on data protection should be sought from Business & Legal Affairs. 28

29 January MAGAZINE ADVERTISING Advertising should be clearly separated from editorial content. Where there may be doubt or confusion, advertising should be clearly labelled to distinguish it from editorial content BBC Talent It may not be appropriate for BBC talent, such as television and radio presenters, to appear in certain types of advertising. In some areas there are clear prohibitions on advertising. For example: The presenter of a motoring show could not appear in an advertisement for a car manufacturer as this would call their objectivity into doubt. BBC presenters should not advertise any products featured in the programme in which they appear and they should not advertise the clothing which they wear on air. No two presenters from the same programme may appear together in an advert for a commercial product or service not connected to the BBC or the programme they present. No actors from a BBC drama may replicate their on air role in an advertisement. Groups of actors from a continuing drama series (such as Casualty or EastEnders) should not appear together in any advertisement. BBC News and current affairs presenters and reporters are not permitted to take part in any commercial advertising. In order to maintain their impartiality it is unlikely that they would be permitted to appear in a promotion for a particular charity. The restrictions that apply to advertisements by on-air talent can be found in the BBC Conflicts of Interest Guidelines (bbc.co.uk/editorialguidelines/advice/conflicts). Normally, regular BBC presenters are contractually required to adhere to these guidelines and to get permission from the BBC for any advertising commitments. All advertisements that feature known BBC talent must be referred to the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian. The ASG must ensure that the relevant BBC Talent Manager is notified. If the BBC Talent Manager considers the advertisement to be inappropriate or a conflict of interest, they may ask that publication does not proceed (if practicable) or that the advertisement is not to re-run in future publications. For advertisement features (where we have control over the copy) the publication must get written confirmation from any BBC talent featured that there is no conflict with their work for the public service and that they have the necessary permission to undertake the work (if appropriate). Such advertisement features must be referred to the relevant 29

30 Advertising and Sponsorship Guidelines Advertising Standards Guardian to ensure that the relevant written confirmation has been received. The ASG must ensure that the relevant BBC Talent Manager is notified Data protection All advertising must comply with local data protection regulations (such as the Data Protection Act in the UK), which controls how personal information is gathered and stored by companies. Particular care must be taken with children s personal details Solus advertising Solus advertising is where one advertiser purchases all the available advertising space in a publication. Solus advertising is not allowed in regular publications. However solus advertising is allowed for one-shot magazines, magazines supplements and inserts. Any such arrangement must be limited to ensure that there is no implication of BBC endorsement of the advertiser and a range of advertisers should be sought over time. All arrangements for solus advertising must be referred to the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian. A solus advertiser may not be referred to within the content, or given any form of credit (unlike a sponsor, see section 6 for Sponsorship). However, for magazine supplements it is acceptable for the front cover of the publication to carry a strip advertisement or competition flash for the solus advertiser provided this does not give the perception of endorsement. The artwork for any front cover advertising must be referred to the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian. A solus advertiser may be related to the editorial content. For example, a Top Gear magazine supplement could take a car manufacturer; and a Good Food magazine supplement could take a food manufacturer as a solus advertiser, however care should be taken to ensure that this deal does not raise questions about our editorial independence. There is particular sensitivity about solus advertising in the UK around public service programme brands. The ASG must refer any proposal for solus advertising around a public service programme brand to BBC Worldwide Commercial Policy or the relevant Editorial Director for BBC World News who will make onward referral to BBC Editorial Policy. 30

31 January CONTENT SYNDICATION AND DISTRIBUTION ARRANGEMENTS Syndication is where content is provided to a third party for inclusion in their broadcast service or on their website. An example of broadcast syndication is the provision of BBC World Service radio bulletins to international radio stations. An example of online syndication is the provision of video content to MSN. Syndication is distinct from distribution because the content is normally BBC branded. Distribution is where a programme or series is sold to a third party for inclusion within their branded service. The contracts for all syndication arrangements must be referred to Business and Legal Affairs and either BBC Worldwide Commercial Policy or the relevant Editorial Director for BBC World News prior to entering in to the contract. Advertising directly around BBC (and BBC Worldwide or BBC World News) syndicated content should not normally include any of the prohibited categories of advertising listed in section 3. Where this is contractually difficult, it should be referred to the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian. The ASG must seek approval from BBC Worldwide Commercial Policy or the relevant Editorial Director for BBC World News. They will consult BBC Editorial Policy. The only exception to this is online where the advertising is clearly labelled and separated from the BBC content and is served automatically across the whole website. In such circumstances, advertising must not jeopardise the good reputation of the BBC or the value of the BBC Brand. For example, if the advertising appears in a separate and labelled Ads by Google or AdSense box and is automatically served across the whole website, not just against BBC content. Advertisers may not specifically advertise solely alongside consumer or lifestyle content relating to themselves or their competitors. Any exceptions must be referred to the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian. For example, a car manufacturer may not buy solely against content relating to its or a competitor brand, but may buy against the genre or category that contains its brand. Any proposal for an advertiser to buy all available advertising against specific BBC content for more than three months must be referred to the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian. 31

32 Advertising and Sponsorship Guidelines 6. SPONSORSHIP 6.1 GENERAL RULES Sponsorship is where a third party pays some, or all, of the costs incurred in making or broadcasting content with a view to promoting their own product or service. For example, a television programme could be sponsored, as could a magazine supplement. Sponsorship is distinct from advertising because a sponsor is credited for their investment providing them with a direct association with the content. A sponsor may also buy advertising, which should comply with the guidelines on advertising. See section 5. Organisations may not sponsor content: if they are not allowed to advertise in that medium. Companies and organisations associated with the prohibited categories of advertising in section 3 may not sponsor any content; which promotes the sponsor s product or service. This includes any promotional references to the sponsor s business. Any reference to a product or service, in either sound of vision, is only permitted if incidental, non-promotional and editorially justified. The sponsorship should not give rise to concern about conflicts of interest Consumer and lifestyle content Consumer or lifestyle content which includes review of products or services may not be sponsored by an organisation whose products or service are likely to be reviewed. This is to avoid the perception that the sponsor may have influenced the editorial selection or conclusions. For example a Top Gear Magazine general car review supplement cannot be sponsored by any car manufacturer. However, a Top Gear Magazine performance car review supplement could be sponsored by a car manufacturer who does not manufacture any performance cars. Similarly, a travel programme that reviews holiday resorts cannot be sponsored by a tourism board that promotes the destination. However, a programme about the history or architecture of a destination could be sponsored by the relevant tourism board. If there is any doubt as to whether content constitutes consumer review (and this rule applies), the relevant ASG should refer to BBC Worldwide Commercial Policy or the relevant Editorial Director for BBC World News. They will consult Chief Adviser, BBC Editorial Policy. 32

33 January Choice of sponsor The choice of sponsor should not raise questions about the reputation of the BBC (see section 2.2). In particular, the sponsorship should: not give the impression that the BBC endorses the sponsor, or its products and services; and not appear that the BBC s integrity and editorial standards have been compromised by the influence of the sponsor. In particular, an organisation may not sponsor content which, had it not been sponsored, could have been expected to contain material which might conflict with the sponsor s interests Advertiser funded or advertiser supplied content Advertiser funded or supplied content should be treated as content sponsored by that advertiser, and these rules on sponsorship apply. Where an advertiser funded programme is also likely to appear on BBC public services channels, the ASG must refer to BBC Worldwide Commercial Policy or the relevant Editorial Director for BBC World News who will make onward referral to BBC Editorial Policy. 33

34 Advertising and Sponsorship Guidelines 6.2 TELEVISION SPONSORSHIP This section applies to all television sponsorship including television on demand services and online streaming of broadcast channels. For audiovisual sponsorship on websites, see section 6.3 on Online sponsorship. Subject to the relevant local regulations, sponsorship on television channels may be allowed for: individual programmes, including individual programmes within themed programme blocks (see section regarding sponsorship of BBC Programming); segments or items within programmes; themed programme blocks which include a number of programmes; slots which contain different programmes at different times (for example Motoring on Dave or Movies on BBC Entertainment ); specialist reports which stand alone as programmes (for example weather or sports reports); items of station presentation or continuity (for example closed captioning) Any sponsorship must be clearly identified at the beginning and/or the end of the programme or segment. It is essential that BBC programmes are not edited in order to place a sponsor in a favourable light or to remove material which would have otherwise been unfavourable to a sponsor. BBC factual programme content in particular, should not normally be edited to enable sponsorship. Where there is a conflict between a choice of sponsor and editorial content, we would normally drop the sponsorship. Therefore, no person or organisation may sponsor a programme which, had it not been sponsored, could have been expected to contain material which might conflict with the sponsor s interests. For acquired programmes, there may be some need to edit a programme to allow sponsorship. All proposals for sponsorship must be referred to the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian. In some instances the ASG will need to make an onward referral. See section 8. Specific issues about sponsorship in the US market should be referred to BBC Worldwide Commercial Policy or the relevant Editorial Director for BBC World News. They will consult BBC Editorial Policy. 34

35 January Television content with restrictions around sponsorship BBC News programming BBC News is a trusted and impartial source for news around the world. Sponsorship arrangements must not jeopardise the good reputation of the BBC or the value of the BBC brand. In the European Union: The audiovisual media services directive (article 3f(4)) prohibits the sponsorship of news and current affairs programmes. In the UK, this restriction is enacted in section 9.1 of the Ofcom Broadcasting Code. Therefore news and current affairs programmes should not be sponsored. The purpose of this restriction is to ensure that news is presented with due impartiality and is reported with due accuracy. - Ofcom defines a current affairs programmes as one that contains explanation and analysis of current events and issues, including material dealing with political or industrial controversy or with current public policy. Specialist reports which contain no current affairs commentary or analysis, such as sport, travel and weather reports, may be sponsored if they are clearly separated from news programming. To avoid the impression that news has been sponsored, such reports should not be described as news. The decision about whether BBC News programming is news and current affairs or a specialist report requires considerable editorial judgment and must be referred to the relevant Editorial Director of BBC World News (regardless of the channel on which the content is to be broadcast). In other territories: Where local regulations and market practice allow sponsorship of news and current affairs programmes, this may be allowed where it does not create the impression that the due impartiality or due accuracy of BBC News has been affected. The decision about whether a BBC News programme can be sponsored in a specific territory requires considerable editorial judgement. Any decision to sponsor BBC News programmes must be referred to the relevant Editorial Director of BBC World News who will consult Chief Adviser BBC Editorial Policy. It may also be necessary for the Editorial Director to consult the Director of BBC Global News or the BBC Deputy Director- General. In some cases it may be more appropriate for the presentation of a programme to be sponsored rather than the programme itself. For example BBC World News on BBC America is sponsored by x 35

36 Advertising and Sponsorship Guidelines Specialist reports which contain no editorial commentary or analysis, such as sport, travel and weather reports, may be sponsored if they are clearly separated from news programming. To avoid the impression that news has been sponsored, such reports should not be described as news. The decision about whether a specialist report can be sponsored requires considerable editorial judgment and must be referred to the Editorial Director of BBC World News (regardless of on which channel the content is to broadcast). In the US, segments of BBC World News America may be sponsored. All such proposals should be referred to the Editorial Director of BBC World News who will consult Chief Adviser BBC Editorial Policy. BBC Worldwide Commercial Policy should be notified of the decision. Where non-news content is broadcast within rolling news services, this content may be sponsored if both the non-news content and the sponsorship credit are clearly separated from new and current affairs programming. Proposals for sponsorship of non-news content within rolling news services must be referred to the Editorial Director of BBC World News Business programmes In Europe, business and financial programmes that contain business news, including explanation or analysis of current financial and economic issues may not be sponsored, in line with Ofcom regulations. In other regions, where local regulations allow, programmes dealing with business matters, such as regular business reports, may be sponsored provided such programmes are not current affairs documentaries BBC Programming In the UK, individual BBC commissioned programmes originally transmitted on the BBC s public service channels, which are no longer being commissioned by the BBC and whose first broadcast on public service channels occurred more than one year ago may be sponsored. Any proposal to sponsor any other BBC commissioned programme must be referred to the Director of Archive Content, BBC Vision and Chief Adviser, BBC Editorial Policy. The relevant Advertising Standards Guardian should confirm the status of any individual BBC programme it is intended to sponsor. They should liaise with counterparts in the BBC to confirm the status of such programming. Outside the UK, individual BBC commissioned programmes may be sponsored. 36

37 January Channel sponsorship Sponsorship of a BBC branded channel is not allowed. Sponsorship of non-bbc branded channels is allowed but only for short periods of time. Items of presentation and continuity (such as subtitling or closed captioning) may be sponsored. The ASG must refer any proposal for channel sponsorship for a duration of more than a month to BBC Worldwide Commercial Policy or the relevant Editorial Director for BBC World News who will make onward referral to BBC Editorial Policy Children s programmes Sponsorship of content aimed at children should be treated with sensitivity. Programmes aimed at children may only be sponsored by organisations who can advertise around content aimed at children. Sponsorship is not allowed by products or services that directly appeal to children. For example a toy company would not be allowed, but a pram manufacturer may be acceptable. The ASG must refer any proposal for sponsorship of children s programmes to BBC Worldwide Commercial Policy or the relevant Editorial Director for BBC World News who will make onward referral to BBC Editorial Policy Consumer Advice programmes Consumer Advice programmes dealing with a range of topics should not be sponsored (for example Watchdog). Single subject Consumer Advice programmes may be sponsored as long as the sponsor is not directly connected to the subject matter of the programme. See section If there is any doubt as to whether a programme should be considered as a Consumer Advice programme or how far this restriction should apply, the Advertising Standards Guardian must refer to BBC Commercial Policy or the relevant Editorial Director for BBC World News. They will consult Chief Adviser, BBC Editorial Policy. 37

38 Advertising and Sponsorship Guidelines Substantive strands (or Blocks) of programming In the UK, BBC programmes can be included in substantive clearly labelled strands of programming or slots which can be sponsored, provided that: Those strands are not titled with, or otherwise carry, a BBC brand; The strand name must be prominent within the credits so that it is clear that it is the strand, and not the BBC brand, that is sponsored; Regular sponsored slots may carry different programmes at different times on different days e.g. a sponsored leisure slot could carry a travel programme one day and a hobbies programme the next. This restriction does not apply outside the UK. 38

39 January Style and content of television sponsorship credits All sponsorship credits must be approved by the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian. Sponsorship must be clearly identified as such by reference to the name and/or logo of the sponsor in a sponsor credit. In Europe, sponsor credits should be: broadcast at the beginning and/or end of the programme. Sponsor credits are also permitted around commercial breaks; clearly separated from advertising. They must not contain advertising messages or calls to action, although basic contact information is permitted. In particular, credits must not encourage the purchase or use of the product or service of the sponsor or a third party. The primary purpose of a sponsor credit is to establish clearly and transparently the relationship between the sponsor and the sponsored programme. It should explain the sponsor s connection with the programme e.g. sponsored by, supported by. The credits must not suggest that the programme has been made by the sponsor. Credits may indicate the connection between a sponsor and a brand or the nature of the sponsor s business e.g. sponsored by company X makers of brand Y or makers of widgets. In all territories, sponsor credits must be clearly separated from programmes. They may not incorporate any element of the programme itself or be voiced by someone appearing in the programme or used in presentation or promotions on the channel. In some territories, it may be appropriate for the sponsor credit to make clear that it is the presentation of the programme on the specific channel that has been sponsored, rather than the programme itself. For example, Top Gear on BBC America is sponsored by x. The ASG must refer any proposal to use known BBC talent in a sponsorship credit to BBC Worldwide Commercial Policy or the relevant Editorial Director for BBC World News who will make onward referral to Chief Adviser, BBC Editorial Policy The BBC Brand Sponsorship credits should not use BBC owned, or BBC related, characters, titles, sets, music, catchphrases or other BBC owned material. This includes programme titles and logos. BBC news presenters or those normally associated with news programming may not appear in sponsor credits for any programmes. 39

40 Advertising and Sponsorship Guidelines Naming Rights Sponsors may wish to include their name in the title of a programme ( naming rights ). This is only permissible where the programme itself can be sponsored. However, to protect the BBC brand and BBC programme brands, this is not permissible for any programme or on-screen event with BBC in the title or for any programme that originated on licence fee funded BBC channels. On air reference to the programme title (including the sponsor s name) is allowed but should be limited in use. The number of references to the programme title within the programme should be agreed in advance with the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian Programme trails and short form programmes Where a programme trail contains a reference to the sponsor of the programme, the reference must remain brief and secondary. Sponsor credits may have a greater prominence in short form programmes (e.g. factoids, vignettes and programmes under 60 seconds in length). Care is needed to ensure there can be no impression that these are advertiser promotions rather than programmes. The risk of such a perception increases when the nature of the sponsor s business is closer to the subject matter. 40

41 January ONLINE SPONSORSHIP This section applies to all online sponsorship including audiovisual content. It also applies to sponsorship on mobile devices. No substantive website as a whole may be sponsored. Sections of websites, microsites or functionality (such as print functionality or video players) may be sponsored. For audiovisual content sponsorship, the principles in section 6.2 on Television sponsorship also apply. All proposals for sponsorship must be referred to the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian. In some instances the ASG will need to make an onward referral. See section Sponsorship on BBC.com [AWAITING DECISION OF BBC TRUST: ALL SPONSORSHIP PROPOSALS MUST BE REFERRED TO THE ADVERTISING STANDARDS GUARDIAN BEFORE ANY CONTRACTS ARE ENTERED INTO] All decisions about appropriate sponsorship around BBC News content require careful editorial judgment and should take note of the intended treatment of the subject matter. Sponsorship around BBC News content must be referred to the Editorial Director of BBC World News, who will consult Chief Adviser BBC Editorial Policy. It may also be necessary to consult the Director of BBC Global News or the BBC Deputy Director-General. 41

42 Advertising and Sponsorship Guidelines Online sponsorship credit The sponsor s name should not normally be incorporated into the name of the section. For example, Orange Film Guide would not be allowed, but Film Guide in association with Orange would be acceptable. To protect the BBC brand, sections with BBC in the title must never have a sponsor s name integrated into their title (e.g. BBC Orange Film Guide). The sponsor s name or logo can be displayed on the website, provided it does not imply that they have ownership or editorial control of the content. A credit should be included above the sponsor s name or logo to explain their connection to the content e.g. Sponsored by, Supported by, In association with etc. There must always be clear separation between the sponsor s name or logo and any BBC brands used. The use of BBC brands and logos must be consistent with the BBC Brand & Design Guidelines. 42

43 January MAGAZINE SPONSORSHIP Regular magazines may not be sponsored (e.g. Radio Times or Top Gear magazine). Sponsorship may be possible for: one-shot magazines, such as the Good Food home cooking specials; magazine supplements, inserts and cover mounts, such as a recipe booklet in Good Food magazines. All proposals for sponsorship must be referred to the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian. In some instances the ASG will need to make an onward referral. See section 8. There is particular sensitivity about sponsorship in the UK around public service programme brands. The ASG must refer any proposal for sponsorship around a public service programme brand to BBC Worldwide Commercial Policy or the relevant Editorial Director for BBC World News who will make onward referral to BBC Editorial Policy Magazine sponsorship credit The sponsor s name should not be incorporated into the name of the publication or product. For example Orange Film Guide would not be allowed, but Film Guide in association with Orange would be acceptable. The sponsor s name or logo may be carried on the front page of the publication, provided it does not imply that they have ownership or editorial control of the publication. A credit should be included above the sponsor s name or logo to explain their connection to the content e.g. Sponsored by, Supported by, In association with etc. There must always be clear separation between the sponsor s name or logo and any BBC brands used. The use of BBC brands and logos must be consistent with the BBC Brand & Design Guidelines. 43

44 Advertising and Sponsorship Guidelines 6.5 CONTENT SYNDICATION ARRANGEMENTS Sponsorship of content syndicated to third parties should comply with the relevant principles for sponsorship in this section. All proposals for sponsorship of BBC content on third party websites must be referred to the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian (within BBC Worldwide or BBC World News). 6.6 EVENTS AND EXHIBITIONS SPONSORSHIP Sponsorship of events and exhibitions should comply with the general rules on sponsorship. See section 6.1. All proposals for sponsorship must be referred to the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian. In some instances the ASG will need to make an onward referral. See section 8. 44

45 January JOINT PROMOTIONS A joint promotion is a marketing tool where we work with a third party to promote a BBC product and the third-party brand at the same time. Examples of joint promotions are: a free DVD with a magazine; a competition to win a DVD if a magazine is purchased; a special price offer for a product by a retailer; collecting tokens to redeem a product at a retailer. Joint promotions must be organized so as to avoid the appearance of our endorsement of the third party or their product or service, and must be consistent with protection of the brand. The BBC Brand and Design guidelines set out the framework under which joint promotions may take place. They can be found at All proposals for joint promotions must be referred to the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian. The ASG must refer all joint promotions to BBC Worldwide Commercial Policy or the relevant Editorial Director for BBC World News. 7.1 CHOOSING A PARTNER FOR A JOINT PROMOTION The same third party should not be used repeatedly to the exclusion of other partners. Opportunities to work with a range of partners should be sought. There are no limits to the duration of a joint promotion; however the exclusivity period should take into account the likely perception of BBC endorsement for the third party. Partners should not bring the BBC into disrepute. They should be appropriate to the editorial values of the service or publication and the BBC brand being used. Categories of organization that are prohibited from advertising (see section 3) are not suitable joint promotion partners. In addition, care should be given regarding the other categories of organization where specific rules apply for advertising (see section 4). 45

46 Advertising and Sponsorship Guidelines 8. LIST OF REFERRALS (The relevant section number for each referral is included in brackets) 8.1 REFERRALS TO ADVERTISING STANDARDS GUARDIAN The following should be referred to the relevant Advertising Standards Guardian. Where there is an onward referral from the ASG in certain circumstances, this is denoted * for onward referral to Editorial Director and # for others. Any proposal to step outside these guidelines # (1.3) Advertising for: - betting, gaming, gambling and casinos * (4.3) - charities and non-governmental organisations * (4.4) - contraceptives (4.5) - dating agencies (including matrimonial and introduction agencies) * (4.7) - feminine hygiene products (4.8) - financial products and services (4.9) - governments and government agencies * # (4.12) - lobby groups * (4.14) - medicines and medical or personal advice (4.16) - horoscopes or tarot card readings which are of an entertainment nature (4.17) - products or services which include reference to religion (4.20) - non-smoking related products produced by tobacco manufacturers (4.22) - antique weapons * (4.26) - all products produced by weapons manufacturers * (4.26) In content aimed at children, advertising for: - products including adhesives or aerosols (4.1) - food and drinks (4.11) - health and beauty products (4.13) - matches and fire lighters (4.15) - toiletries and cosmetics (4.23) - toy weapons (4.24) - vitamins (4.25) All proposals for sponsorship by the National Lottery # (4.3.1) Proposals to insert scratch cards in publications # (4.3.2) All proposals for advertiser funded or advertiser supplied content * ( ) All advertisement features (5.1.4) All proposals for syndication arrangements which do not prohibit the categories of advertiser listed in section 3 # (5.5) 46

47 January 2010 All proposals for advertisement features or sponsorship by governments and government agencies * # (4.12) All proposal to allowed Ad Avails which do not prohibit the categories of advertiser listed in section 3 # (5.2.1) All sponsorship arrangements * # (6.2, 6.3, 6.4) Any doubt as to whether content constitutes consumer review (and how far restrictions on sponsorship should apply) # (6.1.1) All Joint Promotions # (7) On television - advertising that makes an environmental claim (5.1.1) - the break patterns for each children s channel (5.2) - all proposals for advertiser funded or advertiser supplied programming * # ( ) - all sponsorship proposals * # (6.2) - any decision to sponsor BBC News programmes # ( ) - in the UK, any proposal to sponsor a BBC programme that is still in commission and was first broadcast on a public service channel within the past year # ( ) - channel sponsorship (of non-bbc branded channels only) for durations of more than a month * # ( ) - all proposals for sponsorship of programmes aimed at children * # ( ) - any doubt as to whether a programme should be considered as a Consumer Advice programme or how far restriction on sponsorship should apply # ( ) - proposals to use known BBC talent in sponsorship credits # (6.2.2) Online - advertising using Ad Wash ( ) - expandable advertising ( ) - pop-up, pop-under, interstitial or floating advertising * ( ) - templates for audiovisual pre, mid and post-roll advertising ( ) - all page or section takeovers lasting more than 36 hours (5.3.2) - all advertising that proposes to collect personal information (5.3.5) - all section takeovers on syndicated services lasting more than 3 months (5.5) - all sponsorship proposals * # (6.3) - any decision to sponsor BBC News programmes # ( ) on bbc.com/news - any proposal for advertising to materially interrupt the relationship between the user and the editorial content without the user s permission * (5.3) - all page or section takeovers * (5.3.2) - all proposals to place advertising against key works (5.3.3) - all proposals for sponsorship around BBC News content * # (6.3.1) 47

48 Advertising and Sponsorship Guidelines In publications - Advertising featuring known BBC talent (for notification only) # (5.4.1) - Advertisement features featuring known BBC talent # (5.4.1) - All solus advertising arrangements * (5.4.2) - solus advertising around BBC public service programme brands # (5.4.3) - artwork for all front cover advertising (as part of a solus arrangement) * (5.4.3) - sponsorship involving BBC public service programme brands # (6.4) 8.2 REFERRALS TO EDITORIAL DIRECTORS Advertising Standards Guardians should refer the following to the relevant Editorial Director. Advertising (including advertisement features and sponsorship) for: - charities and non-governmental organisations (4.4) - matrimonial agencies (4.7) - governments or government agencies (excluding advertising for tourism boards but including advertisement features for and sponsorship by tourism board) (4.12) - lobby groups (4.14) - antique weapons (4.26) - all products produced by weapons manufacturers (4.26) Sponsorship by betting, gaming or gambling organisations and casinos (4.3) All proposals for advertiser funded or advertiser supplied content ( ) On television - all proposals for advertiser funded or advertiser supplied programming ( ) - for acquired programmes, the editing of a programme to allow sponsorship (6.2) - sponsorship of business programming ( ) - channel sponsorship (of non-bbc branded channels only) ( ) - sponsorship of programmes aimed at children ( ) - all proposals for substantive strand names and their sponsorship ( ) - all proposals for sponsorship naming rights ( ) Online - pop-up, pop-under, interstitial and floating advertisements ( ) - sponsorship arrangements (6.3) - any proposal for a sponsor to have their name directly associated to a section (e.g. Orange Film Guide) ( ) In publications - all arrangements for solus advertising (5.4.2) - artwork for any front cover (strip or flash) advertising (5.4.3) 48

49 January REFERRALS TO BBC TALENT MANAGERS Advertising Standards Guardians should refer the following to the relevant BBC public service talent manager: In publications - Advertising featuring known BBC talent (for notification only) (5.4.1) - Advertisement features featuring known BBC talent (5.4.1) 8.4 REFERRALS TO GLOBAL BRAND COMMERCIAL DIRECTORS Advertising Standards Guardian should refer any proposals for sponsorship or joint promotions around a Global Brand to the relevant BBC Worldwide commercial director. The current BBC Worldwide Global Brands are: BBC Earth Dancing with the Stars (Strictly Come Dancing) Doctor Who Lonely Planet Top Gear 8.5 REFERRALS TO THE EDITORIAL DIRECTOR FOR BBC WORLD NEWS Advertising Standards Guardians should refer the following to the relevant Editorial Director for BBC World News. On television - any decision to sponsor BBC News programmes ( ) Online - any proposal for advertising to materially interrupt the relationship between the user and the editorial content without the user s permission (5.3) - all page or section takeovers on bbc.com/news (5.3.2) - all proposals for sponsorship around BBC News content (6.3.1) 49

50 Advertising and Sponsorship Guidelines 8.6 REFERRALS TO BBC WORLDWIDE COMMERCIAL POLICY OR THE RELEVANT EDITORIAL DIRECTOR FOR BBC WORLD NEWS 1 Advertising Standards Guardians should refer the following to BBC Worldwide Commercial Policy (or the relevant Editorial Director for BBC World News) Any proposal to step outside these guidelines (1.3) All proposals for sponsorship by the National Lottery (4.3.1) Proposals to insert scratch cards in publications (4.3.2) All proposals for advertisement features or sponsorship by governments and government agencies (excluding sponsorship by a government funded tourism or trade board/organisation) (4.12) All proposals for syndication arrangements which do not prohibit the categories of advertiser listen in section 3 (5.5) Any doubt as to whether content constitutes consumer review (and how far restrictions on sponsorship should apply) (6.1.1) On television - the break patterns for each children s channel (5.2) - all proposal to allowed Ad Avails which do not prohibit the categories of advertiser listed in section 3 (5.2.1) - all proposals for advertiser funded programming where it is likely the programme will also appear on BBC public service channels ( ) - in the UK, any proposal to sponsor a BBC programme that is still in commission and was first broadcast on a public service channel within the past year ( ) - channel sponsorship (of non-bbc branded channels only) for durations of more than a month ( ) - all proposals for sponsorship of programmes aimed at children ( ) - any doubt as to whether a programme should be considered as a Consumer Advice programme or how far restriction on sponsorship should apply ( ) - proposals to use known BBC talent in sponsorship credits (6.2.2) In publications - solus advertising around BBC public service programme brands (5.4.3) - sponsorship involving BBC public service programme brands (6.4) All Joint Promotions (7) 50 1 For UKTV, these referrals should be made directly to BBC Editorial Policy

51 January REFERRALS TO BBC EDITORIAL POLICY BBC Worldwide Commercial Policy (or the relevant Editorial Director for BBC World News) should refer the following on to BBC Editorial Policy *Any proposal to step outside these guidelines (1.3) All proposals for sponsorship by the National Lottery (4.3.1) All proposals for advertisement features or sponsorship by governments and government agencies (excluding sponsorship by a government funded tourism or trade board/organisation) (4.12) All proposals for syndication arrangements which do not prohibit the categories of advertiser listen in section 3 (5.5) *Any doubt as to whether content constitutes consumer review (and how far restrictions on sponsorship should apply) (6.1.1) On television - all proposal to allowed Ad Avails which do not prohibit the categories of advertiser listed in section 3 (5.2.1) - all proposals for advertiser funded programming where it is likely the programme will also appear on BBC public service channels. ( ) - *any decision to sponsor BBC News programmes. ( ) - *in the UK, any proposal to sponsor a BBC programme that is still in commission and was first broadcast on a public service channel within the past year ( ) - channel sponsorship (of non-bbc branded channels only) for durations of more than a month. ( ) - all proposals for sponsorship of programmes aimed at children. ( ) - *any doubt as to whether a programme should be considered as a Consumer Advice programme or how far restriction on sponsorship should apply. ( ) - *proposals to use known BBC talent in sponsorship credits. (6.2.2) Online - *any decision regarding sponsorship around BBC News content. (6.3.1) In publications - solus advertising around BBC public service programme brands. (5.4.3) - sponsorship involving BBC public service programme brands. (6.4) * denotes a referral to the Chief Adviser 51

52 Advertising and Sponsorship Guidelines 9. CONTACTS This section does not form part of the actual guidelines and should be treated as guidance. 9.1 BBC WORLDWIDE COMMERCIAL POLICY BBC Worldwide Commercial Policy Post: MC2A6, BBC Media Centre, 201 Wood Lane, London W12 7TQ Telephone: POSITION TELEPHONE Mandip Gill Paralegal Anthony Worrall Editorial Standards Adviser Ben Bleicher Commercial Policy Adviser Andrew Baxter Head of Commercial Policy BBC WORLD NEWS EDITORIAL DIRECTORS BBC World News Post: MC2B6, BBC Media Centre, 201 Wood Lane, London W12 7TQ POSITION TELEPHONE James Montgomery Director of Digital Content Richard Porter Director of News Content BBC EDITORIAL POLICY BBC Editorial Policy Post: Room 4225, BBC White City, 201 Wood Lane, London W12 7TS Telephone: POSITION TELEPHONE Cathy Derrick Adviser Margaret Hill Chief Adviser

53 January BUSINESS AREAS The table below details the key contacts for each of our businesses. SERVICE TELEVISION ADVERTISING STANDARDS GUARDIAN EDITORIAL DIRECTOR BBC America Richard de Croce Richard de Croce BBC World News America 2 Paul Coleman Richard Porter BBC World News Paul Coleman James Montgomery Worldwide Channels Asia Gus Gordon David Weiland Worldwide Channels Australia & NZ Brendan Dahill David Weiland Worldwide Channels EMEA Jane Ray David Weiland Worldwide Channels Latin America Dan Salerno David Weiland UKTV (joint venture) Ray Blaney Matthew Littleford DIGITAL MEDIA Syndication Sarah Baines Jemma Adkins BBC.com/news David Stevenson James Montgomery RadioTimes.com Vic Grimshaw Duncan Swain TopGear.com Vic Grimshaw Duncan Swain GardenersWorld.com Vic Grimshaw Duncan Swain BBCGoodFood.com Vic Grimshaw Duncan Swain Music Digital Ventures (e.g. Windmill Road) Matt Walton tbc MAGAZINES Gardeners World Adam Pasco Nicholas Brett Good Food / Easy Cook Gillian Carter Nicholas Brett Lonely Planet Peter Grunert Nicholas Brett olive Christine Hayes Nicholas Brett Radio Times Ben Preston Nicholas Brett Top Gear Conor McNicholas Nicholas Brett Countryfile Fergus Collins Nicholas Brett Focus Jheni Osman Nicholas Brett Gardens Illustrated Juliet Robert Nicholas Brett History David Musgrove Nicholas Brett Homes & Antiques Angela Linforth Nicholas Brett Knowledge Paul McGuinness Nicholas Brett Music Oliver Condy Nicholas Brett Sky At Night Graham Southorn Nicholas Brett Who Do You Think You Are Sarah Williams Nicholas Brett Wildlife Sophie Stafford Nicholas Brett All About Animals Bea Appleby Nicholas Brett Bob the Builder Andrea Turton or Stephanie Cooper Nicholas Brett 2 Sponsorship only. Advertising should be referred through the relevant channel BBC America or BBC World News 53

54 Advertising and Sponsorship Guidelines SERVICE ADVERTISING STANDARDS GUARDIAN EDITORIAL DIRECTOR CBeebies Animals and CBeebies Specials Andrea Turton Nicholas Brett CBeebies Art and CBeebies Weekly Stephanie Cooper Nicholas Brett Charlie and Lola Andrea Turton or Stephanie Cooper Nicholas Brett Doctor Who Adventures Moray Laing Nicholas Brett Girl Talk Bea Appleby Nicholas Brett In the Night Garden Andrea Turton or Stephanie Cooper Nicholas Brett Match of the Day Ian Foster Nicholas Brett Top of the Pops Peter Hart Nicholas Brett Toybox Stephanie Cooper Nicholas Brett Waybuloo Stephanie Cooper Nicholas Brett CONTENT & PRODUCTION Norman Lockhart Norman Lockhart 54