Scheduling restrictions
Enshrined in the principles of the advertising rules are that ads must be decent, honest and truthful. They mustn't mislead, cause harm or serious or widespread offence.
For this reason, scheduling restrictions have been placed on the advertising of certain products, such as alcohol or lotteries, where there are legal restrictions on their purchase, to ensure that the ads are not targeted inappropriately. Also, the nature of some programming makes it necessary to have some timing as well as content restrictions on the ads that are shown. The following summarises the rules that are stated the Committee of Advertising Practice (Broadcast) rules on the scheduling of ads.
Children's programming
The main restrictions on scheduling concern what may and may not be shown around children's programming; these are obviously necessary to protect children from harm. The following products should not be advertised in or around children's programming:
* Alcoholic drinks containing 1.2% alcohol or more by volume
* Low and no-alcohol drinks versions of an alcoholic drink
* Charities
* Condoms
* Female sanitary protection products
* Liqueur chocolates
* Lotteries
* Matches
* Medicines, vitamins, dietary supplements
* Pools
* Religious matter. These are defined as ads:
- by, or on behalf of, those whose objectives are or appear to be wholly or mainly concerned with religion, faith or other philosophies or beliefs; or
- with a doctrinal objective; or
-which draw or reflect doctrine.
* Slimming products, treatments, establishments
* Trailers for films and videos.
The scheduling rules do go on to define these restrictions by age:
Under 18s
Ads for the following products may not be shown in or adjacent to children's programmes or programmes commissioned for, principally direct at or likely to appeal to audiences below the age of 18:
* Alcoholic drinks containing 1.2% alcohol or more by volume
* Bingo
* Religious matter (as defined above)
* Slimming products or treatments
Under 16s
Furthermore, ads for the following products may not be shown in or adjacent to children's programmes or programmes commissioned for, principally direct at or likely to appeal to audiences below the age of 16:
* lotteries
* pools
Under 10s
Additionally, ads for the following list of products may not be shown in or adjacent to children's programmes or programmes commissioned for, principally direct at or likely to appeal to audiences below the age of 10:
* female sanitary protection products
The other restrictions on the scheduling of ads in or around children's programming are:
* No ads for merchandise based on children's programmes to be broadcast in any two hours proceeding or succeeding episodes of the relevant programme.
* Ads featuring personalities or other characters who appear regularly in any children's TV programme in which they present or positively endorse products or services of special interest to children.
* Need agreement to show ads where children are being administered medicine or vitamins or dietary supplements.
* The advertising of food and drink products high in fat, salt or sugar (HFSS). New rules, which will be effective from 1 April 2007, will remove the ads for any HFSS product from any programme commissioned for, or of particular appeal to children under the age of 16.
Other scheduling restrictions:
* Broadcasters are told to show particular sensitivity when scheduling ads to be played around news programmes especially if a news item is of a tragic nature because it may transform the context in which an ad is perceived.
* No alcohol drink ads (containing 1.2 per cent alcohol or more by volume) can be shown in or between religious programmes
* No charity ads should be shown adjacent to any appeal or community service announcement.
* Ads featuring well known personalities or performers, or a person taking a lead role in or whose appearance is central to a programme, must not be scheduled in breaks in or adjacent to that programme. However, this restriction doesn't apply to feature films or news programmes.