Dating Agencies - RACC clearance is required.

Information is needed in order to check the bona fides of the proposed advertiser, e.g. is it a registered company, how long has it been business, what are its complaint procedures? etc.

Dating services and introduction agencies that offer sexual services may not advertise.

Where business is conducted from premises, the telephone number or full postal address for that location must be included in the advertisement.

If the service advertised is an online service/website, RACC needs written confirmation that details and costs of dating/matches, all terms and conditions related to the service, date protection and complaints procedures are detailed on the website.

The advertiser must provide an assurance that data will not be disclosed to a third party without the client's consent; that they comply with current Data Protection legislation; and that the client's name will be deleted from the advertiser's records promptly on request.

If the advertisement promotes an information/registration/enrolment telephone line/text service / website which relates to a dating service, RACC will need a written assurance that prospective customers are told during use of the phone line/text service/or when they go online that later costs apply (e.g. premium rate call charges) if and when consumers wish to take up the full dating service (e.g. to make contact with client matches). If this assurance is not obtained, RACC will regard the advertising as misleading by omission and will require the copy to clarify the premium rate charges that apply (e.g. via a tag such as "subsequent fees/charges apply").

If the advertisement quotes a price, this must be the full price of the service promoted in the copy; any supplementary charges must be clarified.

Copy must not exploit emotional vulnerability, labour on loneliness or suggest that people are unfulfilled because they do not have a partner.

Copy must not encourage promiscuity.

Dating services run on premium rate telephone and text services must comply with the specific rules on promotional material in the PayPhonePlus Code of Practice.


Death, Humour about

Jokes or humour about death, accidental death, suicide or funerals may be seen to be in poor taste and extreme care is needed.


Denigration

Advertisements must not attack or discredit other products, advertisers or advertisements, whether by implication or directly.

Describing a competitor's product in a derogatory way or using a voiceover with a denigratory tone is unacceptable. Stick to the positive benefits of the advertiser's service, rather than highlighting the negative aspects of a competitor's product or service. Copy may imply 'Avoid the cowboys, come to us' but must not imply 'Everyone else is a cowboy, come to us'.

It is acceptable for copy to make valid, like-with-like factual comparisons but the copy must not imply that, because the competitor product lacks a certain feature, it is in some way inadequate, e.g. 'The X car has a bigger, more advanced engine than the Y car' is acceptable but 'The X car makes the Y car look like a child's pedal car' is obviously not.


Dentists - RACC clearance is needed.

Dentists and dental practices may advertise, subject to an assurance that they comply with the rules of the General Dental Council. 


Dietary Supplements - RACC clearance is needed.

Advertisements for dietary supplements (vitamins and minerals) may not make medicinal/health claims which are directed at people in general.

Advertisements for certain dietary supplements may make general 'maintenance-of-health' claims, subject to qualified medical advice and only where they are directed at the following groups of people:

• those on restricted, unsupplemented or low food-energy diets;
• women who are planning to become pregnant;
• women who are pregnant or lactating;
• growing children;
• some people over 50.

In an advertisement for a range of unspecified vitamins and minerals, a tag such as 'Young mothers, some people over 50 and growing children may need extra vitamins' is needed.

In an advertisement for a specific, named vitamin or mineral, the copy must specifically refer to the targeted group or groups of people, e.g. 'If you are over 50, you may need X'. Alternatively, such advertisements must make clear from the context to whom the dietary supplements are targeted.

Acceptable claims include: 'If you're over 50, you may need X vitamin'; 'Folic acid for women who are planning pregnancy' and 'Specially formulated for growing children, try X calcium supplements'.

Unacceptable claims include 'Suffering from a winter cold? X brand of vitamin C can help' and 'Zinc capsules can ease aches and pains'.

Sales promotions for dietary supplements are acceptable, e.g. 'buy three and get one free'.


Direct Response/Direct Marketing - RACC clearance is recommended.

Advertisements should enable listeners to contact the advertiser easily with any queries that they may have. The easiest way of doing this is to include the advertiser's full address in the copy. However, if an address is not included, direct marketers must ensure that the relevant radio station holds on file the name and address of the advertiser, ready to forward to listeners should they request them. The RACC will need evidence of such a procedure, prior to clearance of scripts.

Advertisers must provide details to the RACC of a scheme whereby they do not receive payments from listeners until they have either despatched a customer's order or when a customer's order is ready for despatch and provided that the order is fulfilled within a few days of payment being cleared. The RACC needs details of the clearing house and procedures followed. If no fulfilment arrangements exist, written confirmation of alternative safeguards must be provided for RACC consideration.

Adequate arrangements must exist at the published address for enquiries to be handled during normal business hours.

Samples of advertised products must be available at that address for public inspection and to the RACC, if requested.

Advertisers must be able to demonstrate how they meet any reasonable demand created by the advertising (e.g. via assurances of adequate stock).

Advertisers must be able to demonstrate that they fulfil orders within a certain delivery period. This is normally 28 days or less. Where the delivery period is in excess of 28 days, the advertiser must confirm to the RACC that consumers are told this at the point of sale/order.

Advertisers must undertake to refund money promptly and in full to listeners who show justifiable dissatisfaction with their purchase or with delay in delivery.

Advertisers must provide an assurance that they comply with the requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998 if they hold computerised records of respondents.

Where a product is obtainable through instalments and a price is quoted, the total price paid by consumers must be quoted, e.g. 'this CD compilation is yours for £40' or 'this CD compilation is yours for two instalments of £20, total price £40'.


Divination and the Supernatural - RACC clearance is required.

Products and services of a psychic nature, such as astrologists, mediums, clairvoyants and psychic exhibitions/fairs, may be advertised on a 'platform only' basis.

No claims that such products and services actually work can be made or implied. This means, for example, that copy such as 'Don't get out of bed until you know what to expect from your day… get your daily starscope from me' would be unacceptable.

The relevant BCAP Code rule requires the RACC to establish that products and services falling within this category do not harm listeners or exploit either their personal or financial vulnerability. This means, for example, that copy such as 'I'm so confused, where's my life going? My job's a no hoper…I need your help' would be unacceptable.


Doctors

Doctors may advertise, subject to an assurance that they comply with the advertising rules of the General Medical Council.


Drugs, References to

References to drugs in scripts are generally unacceptable, unless they are relevant to the product/service being advertised, e.g. a newspaper article about how to tackle drug-related crime.