product placement permitted
5 January 2011
Ofcom has announced that from 28 February 2011 product placement
will be permitted in UK TV programmes.
The Government decided to allow product placement earlier this
year following changes to European broadcasting legislation,
however it could not be permitted until necessary changes had been
made to the Broadcasting Code. The changes have now been made and
can be found in a revised Section Nine of the Code.
Making it obvious
The new rules state that product placement in TV programmes must
be clearly signalled by means of a universal logo which must appear
at both the start and end of any programme in which product
placement appears. The same logo must also appear after each
commercial break.
Viewers will therefore see the first signs of product placement
in January 2011, ahead of the February launch date, when Ofcom aims
to issue a ‘universal product placement logo’. During consultation
suggested logo’s included a ‘PP’ inside a red circle and other
similar ideas, but the final design remains to be seen.
The New Year will also see an ‘audience awareness campaign or
announcement’ appearing on our screens which will be broadcast
ahead of the launch date by all broadcasters intending to take
advantage of the new rules.
What is allowed?
Product placement of the following types of products are banned
under the AVMS (Product Placement) Regulations 2010:
- tobacco
- alcohol
- gambling
- food and drinks high in fat, sugar or salt
- medicines
- baby milk
Ofcom has decided that the paid-for placement of certain other
products or services is also prohibited, including for example
weapons and escort agencies.
Where to place
Placement will be allowed in:
- films, including dramas and documentaries
- TV series, including soaps
- entertainment shows
- sports programmes
It will not be permitted in:
- children’s programmes
- news programmes
- UK produced current affairs, consumer affairs and religious
programmes
Further restrictions
As well as the specific restrictions above, there are also
further general restrictions on product placement.
The rules state that product placement must not influence the
content and scheduling of programming in such a way as to affect
the responsibility and editorial independence of the broadcaster,
and that any placement must be editorially justified.
Further, references to placed products and services should not
be unduly prominent.
Interestingly the rules also state that references to placed
products and services must not be promotional. What exactly does
this mean? Initial guidance to the new rules states that a positive
reference to a placed product or service is likely to be perceived
as promotional in intent, and is likely to include encouragements
to purchase, advertising claims and slogans associated with a
product. It may also include multiple references to a product or
various characters repeatedly using a particular product.
So for example we are not likely to see multiple purchases at
the Rovers Return of Carlsberg simply because it’s ‘probably the
best lager in the world’.
Sponsorship
Ofcom has also taken the opportunity to amend the rules on TV
sponsorship. As of 28 February 2011 sponsors will be able to
product place in programmes they sponsor, as well as inserting
their logos as internal sponsorship credits within programmes.
Radio
At the same time as announcing the new rules on product
placement, Ofcom introduced new rules for radio which took effect
on 20 December 2010. These new rules allow advertisers, for the
first time, to make commercial references within programming.
As with product placement, the broadcaster must ensure that
listeners are made aware when commercial references are made, and
paid for references in children’s and news programmes remain
prohibited.
The content of this bulletin is provided for the purposes of
general interest and information. It contains only brief summaries
of aspects of the subject matter and does not provide comprehensive
statements of the law. It does not constitute legal advice and does
not provide a substitute for it.