Section 10: Commercial References and Other Matters

Relevant legislation includes, in particular, sections 319(2)(f) and (i) and 319(4)(e) and (f) of the Communications Act 2003, Articles 1, 3(e), 10(1), and 18 of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive, section 21(1) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, paragraph 3 of the Investment Recommendation (Media) Regulations Act 2005, and Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights.)

This section of the Code does not apply to BBC services funded by the licence fee, which are regulated on these matters by the BBC Trust.

The rules in this section are subject to, and supplemented by, Ofcoms Cross-promotion Code.

Principles

To ensure that the independence of editorial control over programme content is maintained and that programmes are not distorted for commercial purposes.

To ensure that the advertising and programme elements of a service are clearly separated.

Rules

10.1 Broadcasters must maintain the independence of editorial control over programme content.
10.2 Broadcasters must ensure that the advertising and programme elements of a service are kept separate.

Products or services in programmes

10.3 Products and services must not be promoted in programmes.

This rule does not apply to programme-related material.

(See Rule 10.6.)

10.4 No undue prominence may be given in any programme to a product or service.

Note:

Undue prominence may result from:

• the presence of, or reference to, a product or service (including company names, brand names, logos) in a programme where there is no editorial justification; or
• the manner in which a product or service (including company names, brand names, logos) appears or is referred to in a programme.

10.5 Product placement is prohibited.

Meaning of product placement:

Product placement is the inclusion of, or a reference to, a product or service within a programme in return for payment or other valuable consideration to the programme maker or broadcaster (or any representative or associate of either).

• Prop placement: For the purpose of this rule, references to products or services acquired at no, or less than full, cost, where their inclusion within the programme is justified editorially, will not be considered to be product placement. On television, a brief, basic text acknowledgement of the provider of these products or services may be included within the end credits of the programme. This is permitted only where the identity of the product is not otherwise apparent from the programme itself.
• Acquired programmes: With the exception of childrens programmes produced after 19 December 2009, Rule 10.5 does not apply to arrangements covering the inclusion of products or services in a programme acquired from outside the UK and films made for cinema provided that no broadcaster regulated by Ofcom and involved in the broadcast of that programme or film directly benefits from the arrangement.

Childrens programmes in this context are programmes commissioned for, or specifically directed at, audiences below the age of 16.

Broadcasters should note that all acquired programmes or films must nevertheless comply with all other relevant rules in this Code. In relation to references to products and services in acquired programmes that may have resulted from commercial arrangements, broadcasters should pay particular attention to the requirements of Sections One, Two and Ten of the Code.

Programme-related material

10.6 Programme-related material may be promoted in programmes only where it is editorially justified.

10.7 The broadcaster must retain responsibility for all programme-related material.

10.8 Programme-related material may be sponsored, and the sponsor may be credited when details of how to obtain the material is given.

Any credit must be brief and secondary, and must be separate from any credit for the programme sponsor.

Meaning of programme-related material:

These are products or services that are both directly derived from a specific programme and intended to allow listeners or viewers to benefit fully from, or to interact with, that programme.

Premium rate numbers

10.9 Where a broadcaster invites viewers or listeners to take part in or otherwise interact with its programmes, it may only charge for such participation or interaction by means of premium rate telephone services or other telephony services based on similar revenue-sharing arrangements.

10.10 Premium rate services will normally be regarded as products or services, and must therefore not appear in programmes, except where:

• they enable viewers/listeners to participate directly in or otherwise contribute directly to the editorial content of the programme; or
• they fall within the meaning of programme-related material.

Each of the above exceptions is subject to the undue prominence rule.

10.11 Where a premium rate service is featured in a programme, the primary purpose of the programme must continue to be clearly editorial. Promotion of the featured premium rate service must be clearly subsidiary to that primary purpose.

10.12 Any use of premium rate numbers must comply with the Code of Practice issued by PhonepayPlus.

Competitions

10.13 References to brands within competitions must be brief and secondary.

(See Rule 1.30 in Section One: Protecting the Under-Eighteens and Rules 2.13 to 2.16 in Section Two: Harm and Offence.)

Use of advertisements in programmes

10.14 Advertising must be clearly separated from programmes. Advertisements must not appear in programme time, unless editorially justified.

Charity appeals

10.15 Charity appeals that are broadcast free of charge are allowed in programmes provided that the broadcaster has taken reasonable steps to satisfy itself that:

• the organisation concerned can produce satisfactory evidence of charitable status, or, in the case of an emergency appeal, that a responsible public fund has been set up to deal with it; and
• the organisation concerned is not prohibited from advertising on the relevant medium.

10.16 Where possible, the broadcast of charity appeals, either individually or taken together over time, should benefit a wide range of charities.

Appeals for funds for programmes or services

10.17 Broadcasters may broadcast appeals for donations to make programmes or fund their service. The audience must be told of the purpose of the donation and how much has been raised as a result of the appeal. All donations must be separately accounted for and used for the purpose for which they were donated.

Financial promotions and investment recommendations

10.18 When broadcasting financial promotions and investment recommendations broadcasters must comply with the relevant provisions in Appendix 4 to this Code.

Meaning of financial promotion(s):

A financial promotion is an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity (in accordance with section 21(1) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Restrictions on financial promotion).)

Meaning of investment recommendation(s):

An investment recommendation occurs when someone directly recommends a particular investment decision, for example, buying or selling a particular share or underwriting a particular share offer.

Virtual advertising

Television

10.19 The use of electronic imaging systems during broadcast coverage of an event must comply with the following requirements:

• broadcasters and viewers must be informed in advance of the presence of virtual images;
• virtual advertising may only replace existing on-site advertising virtual advertising messages must not be more visible or conspicuous than the actual advertising at the venue;
• rules relating to prohibited advertisers also apply to virtual advertising; and the broadcaster may not trade in virtual advertising.

Meaning of virtual advertising:

Virtual advertising normally (but not exclusively) takes place at events, for example, sporting events, and involves altering the broadcast signal to replace existing venue advertising with other advertising in the television picture (potentially targeted at a particular geographical audience).