Education (Courses by Colleges and Schools)

Advertisements for courses offered by colleges and schools may be accepted, subject to written confirmation of the courses being offered and after having checked that any claims concerning likely career benefits reflect the nature and capabilities of the course being promoted.


Endorsement by Presenters in Advertisements

All station presenters may voice commercials, provided that they do not personally endorse products or services, e.g. 'the great new single from X band' is acceptable copy but 'this is my top single of the week' is unacceptable copy.

Station presenters may voice commercials within their own programmes, provided that the content and style of material is different from the content and style of the presenters' programme material.

Where the presentation and/or content of the advertisement is similar to programming, the presenter should not compromise the impartiality of his/her programming role, e.g. 'X's fantastic top ten single and they were my special guests on last weeks' Network Chart Show' is unacceptable copy.

A straight factual reference to a presenter's off-air involvement with an advertiser is allowed, e.g. 'I'll be at Y Store's opening night tomorrow'. However, the presenter's words must not be used to endorse or recommend the product/service being advertised, e.g. 'Join me at Y Store's opening night tomorrow to see their new top-of-the-range products and for some fantastic bargains in my opinion'.


Environmental Claims

Advertisements claiming environmental benefits must be clear, must not mislead and must be supported by sound factual evidence. Complicated jargon should be avoided.

Absolute claims such as 'environmentally friendly', 'safe' and 'green' are unacceptable.

Qualified claims such as 'environmentally friendlier' are assessed on a 'cradle to grave' basis where the complete life cycle of the product and its packaging and the environmental effects of its manufacture, use and disposal must be shown to be environmentally friendlier.

A claim such as 'kinder to the environment' needs to be supported by evidence that, for example, the product involves improvements in the chemicals or packaging used. A claim such as 'kinder to the environment than X' needs to be supported by evidence that the product can demonstrate significant advantages over a competitor product. In both cases, the claims must be explained/qualified in the copy, e.g. 'our products are kinder to the environment than X because they are biodegradable'. Claims of this nature may be referred to an RACC consultant.

Limited claims, relating to specific aspects of products, are acceptable in circumstances where more general ones cannot be justified.

Claims based on the lack of a harmful chemical or damaging effect are not acceptable if the product category does not generally include the chemical or cause the effect claimed.

Advertising should follow the Green Claims Code, published by the DEFRA and the DTI. Click here for more information.


Equal Opportunities

The Sex Discrimination Acts make it unlawful for advertisements to discriminate solely on the grounds of sex, particularly in employment, education and training. However, there are exceptions and further advice should be sought from the Equal Opportunities Commission on 0845 6015901 or at www.eoc.org.uk

Charging different prices for the sexes is unlawful. References such as 'free ladies' night every Tuesday', '£3 for entry for men, only £1 for ladies', 'half-price entry for men' or 'free drinks for ladies before 10pm' are therefore unacceptable.


'Exclusive'

Use of the phrase 'exclusive to X store' is permissible where the advertiser has proved that he is the only one selling the product for a reasonable period. A reasonable period means six months for retail outlets and three months for record companies/music publishers.

Claims by record companies that a track or compilation is exclusive require confirmation that the claim will be valid in the run up to the campaign, during the campaign and for one week after the campaign has finished.

Caution must also be exercised by retailers who wish to promote 'Three for the price of two when you buy X, exclusively at Y store'. This is not acceptable where the same promotion is being run by a competitor who stocks the same products.