Clearcast
Newsletter
Spring 2016
CLEARCAST NEWSLETTER
SPRING 2016
Editor
Jonathan Laury
Contributors
Cathy Preece
Chris Mundy
Elliot Lord
Guy Cubitt
Helen Belcher
Jo Walker-Davidson
Justyna Shala
Matt Baily
Michael Haydon
Niamh McGuinness
Nicola Wynter
Oliver Golden
Olivia Quarshie
Seb Lynch
Design
We Made This
www.wemadethis.co.uk
INTRODUCTION
Hello from Chris Mundy
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2015 clearances in brief Trans representation in ads Obesity in ads Bioglan Superfoods: A Copy Development Case Study
Clearance Bootcamp Training 2016 What happens when a complaint comes in? How to get your ad through Ops smoothly Clearance to playout or airdate? Irish Clearance - what’s the story? 8
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Hellos, Goodbyes and Babies Crossing over from agency to Clearcast Inny & Outty 5 minutes with Professor Robin Seymour
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THE BACK PAGE
Dear Jackie
Did you know…?
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INTRODUCTION
Hello
In January Clearcast and IMD Optimad extended our agreement,
with Clearcast licensing CARIA through to 2023. CARIA provides
significant efficiencies to both broadcasters and agencies, providing
a single interface for bookings and copy rotations. It will now also be
integrated with the Attribution service which provides metadata to
enable campaign analysis. We’re planning exciting improvements,
such as bringing forward publication of attribution data to the point
of transmission.
Chris Mundy
Managing Director
I’m writing this a few days after the 2016 Clearcast party where
I was reminded how lucky we are to work in such a vibrant industry.
Uniquely, Clearcast work with companies right across the sector:
broadcasters, sales houses, media and creative agencies, post houses,
delivery and technology companies. We couldn’t do our jobs effectively without strong relationships with you and the party is a way
of fostering those and saying thanks for helping us get ads to air as
quickly and efficiently as we jointly can.
Last year we fully migrated from Adway to CopyCentral. That was
no mean feat: closing all open submissions on the old system and
getting everyone up to speed with the new one. Thanks in particular
for your patience when we had some teething problems in the run up
to Christmas. A lot of work went into stress testing the system, but
ultimately actual usage differed from our simulation and highlighted
pressure points that had to be addressed. That was done as quickly
as possible and the team here worked incredibly hard to make sure
the impact on broadcasters and agencies was minimised. As a result
of that work, CopyCentral has been running well so far this year.
Work on CopyCentral functionality continues, and we’re planning
further functional improvements for 2016.
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As you will know if you’ve worked with us for a while, we’re not
complacent and are always looking at ways to improve how we work.
You’ll shortly be able to feed into that process as we’ll be sending out
our agency survey. This has proved very helpful in the past so please
do take a few minutes to complete it; even telling us you don’t have
strong feedback is useful information!
Finally, this may well be our best newsletter yet. It’s packed with
useful tips for getting your ads cleared smoothly as well as answers
to questions you’ve probably asked yourself, like what happens when
there’s a complaint. If you have any topics you’d like us to think
about for future editions please let us know.
Chris
www.clearcast.co.uk
Clearcast Newsletter · Spring 2016
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2015 clearances in brief Trans representation in ads Obesity in ads Bioglan Superfoods: A Copy Development Case Study Clearance Bootcamp Training 2016 What happens when a complaint comes in? How to get your ad through Ops smoothly Clearance to playout or airdate? Irish Clearance - what’s the story? 8
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clear
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2015 clearances
in brief
Trans representation
in ads
Niamh McGuinness
Head of Copy Clearance
Helen Belcher
2015 was the year we fully migrated to CopyCentral, after a softlaunch in the summer of 2014.
New systems inevitably bring teething problems; under what were
sometimes difficult circumstances we considered 33,000 scripts
and 68,500 films across 2015. The figures show that the number of
scripts has decreased over 2014, when we considered 35,000 scripts,
but the number of films has increased by 1,500.
Helen is one of the founders and directors of
Trans Media Watch, a charity that encourages
the media to report trans and intersex issues
with accuracy, dignity and respect. Trans Media
Watch act as consultants should Clearcast have
concerns about trans portrayal in a script,
and have given training sessions to highlight
key issues.
Only a tiny proportion of ads that we clear are the subject of either
viewer challenge or a formal upheld ruling from the ASA. Throughout 2015, the ASA formally investigated 80 ads that we cleared and
published upheld rulings against 38 of them.
We’re maintaining our target to provide a response on 85% of script
submissions within 4 days, and 95% of video submissions within
2 days.
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Clearcast Newsletter · Spring 2016
Transgender. It’s the new black; the best thing since the thing before
sliced bread. You can’t move nowadays without reading or seeing
something about it. So, as forward-thinking marketeers driving into
the zeitgeist, you’ll be all over this in your ads. But before you leap in
with your new-found stillettos, overleaf are a few things to consider
if you’re going to “use the trans”.
Clearcast Newsletter · Spring 2016
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Firstly, trans people come in all shapes and sizes. We are, literally,
everywhere, and the thing is – we’re not always identifiable. So be
careful when using the stereotypical trans person – you know, the
bass-voiced, bearded 22 stone rugby player in a lurid mini-dress
and long blonde wig – because that says more about you and the
assumptions you make than you’d like to reveal. Relying on gender
variance for a quick visual gag? We’d suggest not.
Secondly, we’ve seen quite a lot of earnest documentaries and quick
one-liners in our time. Even a government minister has said that
broadcasters need to incorporate characters who just happen to be
trans. Admittedly, in an advert, there is the “but how would
you know” angle to get over, but you’re clever marketing people –
you can do this, you know you can.
Transgender definitely shouldn’t be off limits for advertising, but
you do need to avoid creating harmful scenarios. Anything that
encourages people to “spot the trans” or “laugh at the trans” is a
real no-no. A basic line is are you laughing at or laughing with a
trans person – ’cause laughing at someone is always wrong.
Advice is out there should you need it. At Trans Media Watch,
we understand the pressures advertisers are under, and can advise
on what the impact of any proposals are.
Finally, please remember – trans people are people first, and
trans second.
For more information or to contact Trans Media Watch head to:
www.transmediawatch.org
Thirdly, trans people are no more (and no less) into sex than anyone
else. Trans women (that’s people assigned male at birth) don’t get
dressed up simply because they always want a hot date – although
chance sometimes smiles.
Fourthly, regret rates are astonishingly low, lower even than for
cancer surgery. But trans is not all about the surgery. In fact, lots of
trans people don’t have surgery, and for many others it’s simply a
step along the way. But trans people, as long as society lets them be,
are no more sad, tragic or brave than anyone else.
Fifthly, trans people don’t always present as female. Around half
the referrals to gender clinics now are for trans men. And a growing
number, particularly younger trans people, identify as “non-binary”
– which means they don’t think of themselves as exclusively men or
women. (See point 1 above about stereotypes.)
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Obesity
in ads
The consultation closed in May and after consideration of all the
responses CAP and BCAP decided to amend the relevant rules in
both of their Codes to allow providers of lifestyle weight management programmes meeting certain criteria to make references to
obesity in their advertising.
Justyna Shala
Teleshopping Clearance Manager
An additional rule has been added to section 12 of BCAP:
Last year CAP and BCAP undertook a consultation on references to
obesity in advertisements. Although weight loss programmes have
long been generally acceptable for advertising, references to obesity
or depictions of obese people have only been permitted for weight
loss programmes where participants were placed under the direct
supervision of a healthcare professional.
12.11.2
Lifestyle weight management programmes which meet the
following standards may make responsible references to
obesity in their advertisements. These programmes must:
• be shown to be effective at 12 months or beyond
• last at least three months
Obesity is frequently associated with a wide range of other health
problems including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, osteoarthritis
and some cancers; the rules were designed to prevent a situation in
which an obese person is encouraged by an advertisement to explore
treatment options without the input of an appropriately qualified
medical professional.
However, given the recognition in public health policy of the value of
weight loss programmes in tackling obesity as well as updated guidance document Managing overweight and obesity in adults
– lifestyle weight management services from NICE (National
Institute for Health and Care Excellence), CAP and BCAP acknowledged that the original position may have become too restrictive.
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• be multi-component; addressing dietary intake, physical
activity levels and behaviour change
• be developed by a multi-disciplinary team; including input
from a registered dietitian, registered practitioner psychologist and a qualified physical activity instructor, and
• be provided by staff who are trained to deliver the
programme in question.
Advertisers should have regard to the guidance on
Managing overweight and obesity in adults –
lifestyle weight management services published by the
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)
Clearcast Newsletter · Spring 2016
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Under the terms of the new rule advertisers need to hold robust
evidence that their programmes are effective before advertising to
people who are obese. Rules in the weight loss sections of both Codes
already prohibit any claims that programme participants will lose
precise amounts of weight. As required by the strict rules on testimonials, any claims made about weight loss experienced by existing
programme participants need to be substantiated, not misleading,
and used with the permission of the individual concerned. So long
as these rules are complied with CAP and BCAP do not consider that
there is necessarily a problem with advertisers using accurate testimonials from those who have lost substantial amounts of weight.
Advertisers choosing to do so should take care not to state or imply
that such depictions are normal where that is not the case.
For more details such as the definition of ‘lifestyle weight management programme’ and any limitations please see the regulatory
statement issued jointly by CAP and BCAP here.
The change to the Code became effective as of 12th November 2015
and CAP and BCAP consider this change to the rules to be significant. They will therefore conduct a review of the effect of the rules
after 12 month period.
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Bioglan Superfoods:
A Copy Development
Case Study
Seb Lynch
Copy Development Manager
Copy Development is a premium service that provides advice and
guidance to agencies and advertisers when they are developing
their concepts, creative and claims. Often advertisers want to make
claims that require assessment by one of our external consultants.
In these cases the consultant will be involved in the copy development discussions.
THE CLIENT
Bioglan Superfoods is a product range belonging to Pharmacare.
They requested a Copy Development meeting with our nutrition
consultant to discuss the storyboard for their Organic Cacao product.
THE MEETING
Joining me at the meeting were Clearcast’s nutrition consultant,
Pharmacare’s Head of Marketing, Regulatory & Technical Manager
and Brand Manager. We talked through the storyboard, identifying
the claims that required substantiation and discussed what that
substantiation should look like. We also discussed amendments to
both the voice over and the visuals that would be necessary to ensure
the ad was not misleading and was in line with Nutrition and Health
Claim regulations.
Clearcast Newsletter · Spring 2016
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THE FOLLOW-UP
There remained a claim which required further research by the
consultant, so the following day she provided further guidance to
address this one outstanding point. Pharmacare now had a clear
understanding of what was required from them to produce an
approvable script. Before submitting the final script for clearance
they sent their updated storyboard to me for a sense check. Following guidance from me they made a final amendment and were ready
for clearance.
TESTIMONIAL
CLEARANCE
Pharmacare submitted their script and substantiation with confidence, in the knowledge that they had followed the development
advice and had guidance from the nutrition consultant who would be
responsible for reviewing the final script on Clearcast’s behalf.
To set up a Copy Development meeting with a consultant, contact
me on [email protected]
As it happened the Copy Team
raised an issue resulting from a
precedent which would have
required extra superimposed
text, but fortunately I was able
to help resolve this due to my
in-depth knowledge of the
claims and the relevant regulation, and the script was duly
approved. This provides a good
example of how useful it can be
to involve Clearcast so closely
when developing a campaign.
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“The session was extremely helpful, all of us thought it was really
worthwhile and has helped move things on considerably in only
90 minutes – saving us lots of back and forths. It was a really
invaluable session where they helped us to identify exactly what
we needed to submit.”
Georgia
Pharmacare.
Bioglan Superfoods Organic Cacao
Clearcast Newsletter · Spring 2016
Clearcast Newsletter · Spring 2016
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Clearance
bootcamp
The BCAP code says the following
SUBSTANTIATION
3.9 Broadcasters must hold documentary evidence to prove
claims that the audience is likely to regard as objective and
that are capable of objective substantiation. The ASA may
regard claims as misleading in the absence of adequate
substantiation.
Nicola Wynter
Senior Copy Group
Executive
Some claims can be supported by a simple confirmation, for example
if an advert says “new!” we would ask for the product launch date to
confirm that the product is within its 12 month cap, so it is indeed
deemed new.
There are claims which wouldn’t or couldn’t really be supported by
evidence such as “This music is so good you will dance all night”.
We call these types of claims ‘puffery’.
One of the best things about working at Clearcast, and trust me
when I say there are many, is the variety of adverts we get to be
involved in.
Then we have adverts where the claims require evidence, such as
“This product can clean wine stains”, “This is a bestselling product”.
This is where a Claim Support Model (CSM) can be really, really
useful.
You may be looking at an advert which doesn’t really contain claims
and is all about the visuals such as a perfume advert, which usually
feature really good looking people who look like they smell awesome.
Alternatively you may be reviewing an advert that is full of claims
that will need to be considered further by us and maybe a specialist
consultant which would require robust substantiation.
So what is a CSM I hear you ask? It’s a template we’ve created that
is structured to direct whoever is completing the form to ensure all
claims are supported and nothing is missed. It ensures that claims
are supported in a clear and efficient manner so that your Clearcast
executive and the consultant, where necessary, can easily work
through your evidence for the claims.
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The first page asks for basic information like advertiser, agency and
product but crucially it contains a section asking for a clock or script
number for any previous submissions which may be relevant to this
new script. So if you have any claims, demos or visuals that have
been approved before, let us know! We can check back and hopefully
save a massive amount of time. A Clearcast executive looks at hundreds of adverts a month, so I’m sure you can understand that we
may not always remember all your previously approved claims.
The CSM also requests the full script; now you may think, but I have
already uploaded a script, why do I have to upload it again? This is
slightly different to your standard script as it contains not only the
visuals, audio and legal supers but a section for you to identify the
claims. It’s a special template for you to break the script down to
ensure all claims, whether they be audio or visual, are identified as
needing evidence.
This all helps to ensure the agency and advertiser do not miss anything and also means your Clearcast executive and the consultant
can clearly see how claims have been supported. Some script submissions can have 5, 10 or even 20 pieces of substantiation (the
record last year was over a hundred pieces!) so you can see how
important it is that this is presented in a clear and concise manner to
avoid confusion and unnecessary delays.
So the next time you have a script which has claims that need substantiation, use the Claim Support Model. You should find that once
completed it makes the process of getting your claims reviewed and
approved a whole lot smoother.
You can find the Claim Support Model in our Knowledge Base under
online forms – there is even a handy guide to help you along, so
come on, get supporting!
Section 4 is entitled Substantiation of Claims. This is where we get to
the meaty bit, the actual evidence.
It asks you to go through each of the claims you listed in the script
section and state how it is supported. If the claim is backed by a
document, such as trial data or a sales spreadsheet, you’ll need to
explain how you believe this substantiates the claim and if only one
page is relevant, list that page number so we don’t have to wade
through the whole document when it isn’t required. You will also
need to state the appendix number so that all documents are clearly
linked to the appropriate claim. If a claim is puffery then you’ll need
to note it down as that, giving your reasons on why this is so. If the
claim needs a simple confirmation, you’ll do that in this section also.
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Training
2016
Find out more about IACT including future events and our online
Video Library via our website.
Michael Haydon
UK & International Training Manager
Excellent
Good
Phew! 2015 was another very busy year for training at Clearcast…
and hugely successful too! We trained over 500 delegates and,
even better, 100% of Certificate attendees rated us either ‘excellent’
or ‘good’, and 100% would recommend us to colleagues.
Over the year we ran multiple courses at our offices, via bespoke
sessions we trained delegates across the globe, and even found
time to squeeze in a 3rd International Ad Compliance Training
(IACT) event.
Delegates from across the globe joined us in November for the IACT
event, where we again went beyond the borders of UK advertising.
Four expert speakers demystified advertising rules and regs in
ROI, Sweden, the Middle East and China, covering everything
from sexism to using Hello Kitty on alcopops.
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Our 2016 Training Programme shows no sign of slowing down…
We’re continuing to develop and update our courses, making them
more interactive, current, and tailored to delegates’ needs. We’ve
also added two more dates to the training diary: we’re taking our
popular Agency Certificate ‘on the road’ to Glasgow and Dublin.
One key reason for our Certificate courses’ popularity is that they
cater to a wide range of delegates and proficiencies meaning that
everyone can find a course that is right for them.
Below is just some of the very positive feedback that we received
in 2015:
“Training was engaging, interesting and presented well
throughout” Matt Henry at AMV BBDO, Agency Certificate
“A very well thought out, extremely useful course. I now have
a much better understanding of the process and insights into
how to improve my own submissions. Very Impressed.”
Gaby O’Leary at Pharmacare Europe, Advertiser Certificate
“The course was clear, concise, and covered everything I needed
to know. Very pleased.”
Sophie Chapman at ITV, Broadcaster Certificate
“A great course: content was relevant and engaging throughout.”
Megha Desai at Google, Advanced Certificate
Clearcast Newsletter · Spring 2016
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In addition to our Certificate courses, our popular Bespoke sessions
allow delegates to receive training that is specific to their organisation. Bespoke training allows you to learn from within your own
office and to benefit from training tailored to your organisation’s
needs.
“Michael’s presentation… worked perfectly in helping the team to
better understand the role they play in getting an ad on-air and
what the watch outs are at every stage of the process.”
George Barton, Karmarama, Bespoke Training
Our full Certificate Course list for 2016 is:
Agency Certificate
Advertiser Certificate
Wednesday 27 January
Wednesday 6 April
Wednesday 24 February
Wednesday 28 September
Wednesday 30 March
Wednesday 7 December
Wednesday 27 April
Wednesday 25 May
Wednesday 29 June
Wednesday 27 July
Wednesday 13 April
Wednesday 5 October
Advanced Certificate
Wednesday 14 September
Wednesday 11 May
Wednesday 12 October
Wednesday 16 November
Wednesday 14 December
Jo Walker-Davidson
Senior Copy Group
Executive
Broadcaster Certificate
Wednesday 31 August
Wednesday 9 November
What happens
when a
complaint
comes in?
Agency Certificate
on-the-road
Thursday 9 June: Dublin
Thursday 1 December: Glasgow
Don’t Panic!
You dutifully followed all the advice and guidance of your friendly
neighbourhood Clearcast contact, provided all the substantiation,
cleared a script, filmed the advert (preferably in that order!),
had your final copy approved – and it’s all safely broadcasting
to the nation.
Then a complaint notification comes in!
What happens now?
I look forward to welcoming you to Clearcast Towers in 2016!
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DON’T PANIC!
Just because the ASA has decided to investigate a complaint about
an advert, doesn’t mean it has to be taken off air immediately.
The ASA expects the broadcaster and the advertiser to defend the
adverts before considering the merits of the complaint.
Broadcasters bear responsibility for the content of advertising on
their channels and, where Clearcast clears ads on their behalf, we
are the ones tasked with responding to the issues raised. The ASA
will be expecting the advertiser to provide their own thoughts on
the complaint. This should be channelled through Clearcast.
Clearcast will respond to the complaint by defending the rationale behind our clearance decision and outlining the processes and
discussions we had before clearing the ad. The advertiser may have
different reasons why they feel their advert is acceptable.
When a complaint comes in, there is no immediate requirement
to take the advert off air, although the ASA will expect a timely
response. Once the responses are with the ASA, they will be assessed
and the ASA will produce a Draft Recommendation giving their initial thoughts on whether the complaint will be upheld or not.
the wording of the Recommendation. In the event that the Draft is to
“uphold” it is usual to write additional comments in order to form an
appeal.
Once all final comments have been considered, the ASA will ask their
Council to make a final determination about everything put in front
of them. The Council do not always agree with the Draft Recommendation so it is best not to be complacent about a “not upheld” Draft
- although it is also the case that a Draft “upheld” is not an ultimate
game-over.
A Final Ruling will be published and in the event the Final Ruling is
to “uphold” the complaint, the advert must be withdrawn from air
immediately (or in the case of rulings over scheduling, be rescheduled accordingly). Clearcast will do their best to work with you to
create replacement copy where it is possible.
A “not upheld” ruling means everything can continue as before.
Huzzah!
DON’T PANIC!
Clearcast and the advertiser will have the opportunity to provide a
response to the Draft Recommendation. In the event that the Draft
is to “not uphold” the complaint, it is unusual for us to disagree with
that, although we may wish to make factual comments relating to
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How to get your ad
through Ops smoothly
Olivia Quarshie
Operations Assistant
Here at Clearcast we want to help you get your adverts cleared
efficiently and quickly. In order for this to happen, we need you to
supply our Operations team with all the necessary information when
uploading video submissions.
On each video submission you make within CopyCentral, both rough
and clocked, you will need to attach a matching script in the Script
Tab to the far left of the form. In the script, the voice over and visual
description as well as any on-screen text and legal supers must
match the edit. Even if you have already supplied this at pre-production stage, we still require a corresponding script with all new video
submissions. It is important that scripts are attached which reflect
the video exactly. At times videos are submitted without the approval
of a preproduction script and it is difficult to consider approval without having the benefit of the claims and legal supers in printed form.
Likewise it is difficult to compare amended videos to previously
approved videos without being able to compare the actual scripts
which reflect them.
Within the TVC tab, there are a few sections to fill in. Ensuring
these are filled out accurately will enable us to process everything
as quickly as possible without unexpected delays.
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For example, if anyone featured in the advert can be facially identified then their name will need to be inserted in the Visual Artist
section; these must be typed out individually, separated by the
Return key (or pasted in from another document). The same applies
to all the information we require in the TVC section, such as Voice
Over artists, telephone numbers, and URLs. Also, licensing rules
require that the correct length and track information are entered for
use by the broadcasters for the purposes of PRS rights tracking.
On the “Submission Links” tab you are able to link to relevant
previously approved submissions. For example you can enter the
submission number of a related approved script.
If all this information is entered fully and accurately then it will
significantly speed up the whole process. Once this has been done,
your Operations Assistant will be able to push the advert through
to your Copy Executive swiftly.
If for any reason we have to send your submission back to you for
amends, then you need to remember to return the submission to us
once you’re done, otherwise it doesn’t appear in our inbox. To do
this, simply go to the Feedback tab and find the Comment section
at the bottom of the page. Add a note in this box then press ‘Post
comment and Return to Clearcast’.
Making sure this is all done will allow for a much speedier process
for everyone involved and will ensure your ads get to air as quickly
and smoothly as possible.
Clearcast Newsletter · Spring 2016
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Clearance to playout
or air date?
Guy Cubitt
Cover Team Manager
Do you ever ask yourself tricky questions? I do. Such as: “Which
came first? The horse, or the cart?” Clearly the horse (I’m told).
But would you put the horse before the cart? Who cares – it’s not
really relevant. What is relevant is the thorny issue of whether we
clear ads to meet playout dates or air dates.
The answer is – we only prioritise clearance dependent on air date.
That’s not to say that you need to wait for us to approve an ad before
you playout. That is entirely at your own discretion.
We are fully mindful that the TV stations require copy to be delivered well in advance of air dates and we try to approve ads in time
for this whenever possible. But when push comes to shove we take
air dates as the bottom line as far as priority is concerned.
Ideally, if you can get copy and claims support (if needed) to us with
as much time to spare this would avoid any nail-biting moments.
Otherwise it could be a case of closing the stable door after the horse
has bolted.
Maybe horses are relevant after all…
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Irish clearance –
what’s the story?
Niamh McGuinness
Head of Copy Clearance
We all know that Clearcast clears ads for broadcast in the UK.
What comes as a surprise to some, however, is that that we also
clear ads for broadcast in the Republic of Ireland if they appear
on channels broadcast into Ireland from the UK that are owned or
represented by our shareholders.
This may seem odd but it’s because of what’s called the “country of
origin principle” – here comes the legal bit:
The Country of Origin Principle
Audio-visual media service providers are subject to the regulations
in their country of origin only and cannot be subject to regulation in
the destination country.
So, even though some ads we see are destined to air only in the
Republic of Ireland, the ASA has regulatory responsibility and the
ads have to be assessed in line with the BCAP Code.
Unsurprisingly, this can cause confusion. Often ads that are booked
to be broadcast in Ireland on either Channel Four or Sky’s channels have already aired on Irish channels, have been subject to the
copy clearance process at RTE or other Irish broadcasters, and both
advertisers and agencies consider further clearance is not necessary.
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It’s also seen as quite burdensome; the clearance process in the UK
is different to that in Ireland.
Clearcast requires sight of all evidence in support of claims, which
we then assess to decide if it is enough to justify claims being made.
This can include referring evidence to independent consultants,
something that is not done in Ireland. Clearcast also has to make
sure that rulings by the ASA are observed and we may ask for
changes to be made to existing ads so they comply with the most
up to date position adopted by the ASA. This can mean that Irish
advertisers end up with two separate ads – one broadcast on Irish
channels and another, different one, on the UK channels. So there
can be a double whammy here; firstly an extra clearance process
and secondly the possibility of having to change ads to make them
comply with the UK’s rules.
While Irish agencies and advertisers may find this all rather frustrating, perhaps some comfort can be taken from the fact that the situation does operate in reverse for some advertisers, particularly in the
alcohol sector. Alcohol advertising is the one sector that is required
to be centrally cleared in Ireland. Assessing against the Advertising
Standards Authority of Ireland’s Code, CopyClear (Central Copy
Clearance Ireland) is responsible for clearing alcohol ads for broadcast on Irish TV channels, even those that have already been cleared
by Clearcast. Because not all the rules are identical, there are times
when ads that have been broadcast in the UK are not accepted or are
required to be changed before broadcast in Ireland.
To understand more about copy clearance why not come along to
our ‘On the Road’ training session in Dublin on 9 June? Details can
be found on our website here.
Clearcast Newsletter · Spring 2016
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Hellos, Goodbyes and Babies Crossing over from agency to Clearcast Inny & Outty 5 minutes with Professor Robin Seymour 36
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cast
CAST
Hellos, Goodbyes
and Babies!
Matt Baily
Copy Group Manager
Babies
Since our last newsletter, Clearcasters have been their usual productive selves, with Copy Group Executive Rosie becoming a mother to
Tessa, who was born in November, weighing in at a fine 7lbs and
10 oz. Warm congratulations to Rosie from everyone at Clearcast.
Marriages
We also wish congratulations to both Andrew Taylor our Lead
Systems Administrator and Olivia Quarshie, Operations Assistant,
who both wed last September (not to each other.) Andrew returned
to his native Midlands to get married, whilst Olivia had her traditional Ghanaian wedding over in Accra.
Goodbyes (for now)
We bid au revoir, literally, to Senior Copy Group Executive Nicola
MacBean and Copy Group Executive Paul Garside who are both
enjoying sabbatical leave. Nicola has been away since mid-January
and is due back in May and Paul left later in the month and comes
back in August. They’ll both be spending their time travelling;
Nicola through Asia and Central America, Paul around South
America. Safe journeys to you both from your jealous colleagues.
We look forward to your safe and happy return to the office and
watching you acclimatise back to the daily grind.
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Clearcast Newsletter · Spring 2016
Clockwise from top left: Rosie and Tessa; Olivia married Kofi, and Andrew married Laura.
Arrivals
David Garden joined us as Copy Group Executive in October picking
up Rosie’s reins whilst she raises her new-born. Julie Swift joined in
early January as Copy Group Executive to take over the portfolio of
Jennie Park who moved to Senior Copy Group Executive. Jennie was
promoted to fill the space that Nicola temporarily creates. If you’re
still with me, our most recent recruit Kate England came to us in late
January to take care of Paul’s work whilst he satisfies his wanderlust.
Welcome to you all from everybody here.
Clearcast Newsletter · Spring 2016
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COMPILED BY CATH Y P RE ECE · COP Y G R O U P M A N AG E R
C R O S S I N G OVE R
FROM
AG EN C Y
TO
C LEA RC A S T
Cass Briscoe joined Clearcast as a Copy Group
Executive in 2015, with a background in working
for advertising agencies.
We were curious to find out what she thought were
the main differences between working for Clearcast
and working for an agency, and what had made her
want to move over to what some of her previous
colleagues may consider the Dark Side…
How long did you work on the agency side and for which agencies?
6 years- I’ve worked at Peacock, Hogarth, and Tag
What was it about working for Clearcast that
appealed to you?
I’ve been in TV Admin since I left University,
so I’ve always worked with Clearcast. I’d been
to the office before for the training sessions,
as well as the agency parties, so from that and
working with them I knew they were a nice
bunch. Clearance was always the part of TV
Admin that I enjoyed the most, so when I saw
the vacancy I had to apply.
What do you find are the main differences between working for Clearcast and
for agencies?
Clearcast is a relatively small company, which is nice, everyone is friendly
and knows each other. In agencies you’re often part of a much bigger team,
that often reaches internationally, so you don’t always get to know everyone. I worked in TV Admin, so you’re dealing with lots of different teams
besides your own- producers, account managers, clients, broadcasters, and
of course Clearcast! It was nice to work with a variety of different people
every day, but Clearcast definitely feels more like a family.
Do you have different relationships with agencies
and stations depending on whether you are working
for an agency or for Clearcast?
When you’re in TV Admin, you’re the person
who delivers the advert and as such you’re usually
at the very end of a long process to get an ad
made and on air. This often means that you’re up
against it, as any leeway in the timeline has been
used up way back in the process and it’s up to
you to meet the final deadline! This means you’re
getting chased by all sides from producers in the
agency, account managers and broadcasters, so
there is a lot of pressure. Of course we have
deadlines here at Clearcast, but you’re one step
removed from being in the thick of it so your
relationships with agencies and broadcasters do
feel different. As a general rule, agencies just
want their ad approved so will be friendly and
work with you in order to help you facilitate that.
What are the pluses and minuses of each side?
When you’re in an agency working with producers, you do sometimes feel
more involved in the making of the ad which is nice- although sometimes
that can be a negative as well, when it’s busy and everyone around you is
under pressure! And at Clearcast we do get to see ads when they are just
ideas or very early scripts, so we’re still heavily involved in the outcome.
I’ve only ever worked in advertising and I really do love it, I find it all
very interesting.
Do you feel that the work is more varied on the agency side?
When I was working in TV Admin I worked with a lot of international
clients, so dealing with deliveries and clearances in other countries besides
the UK. There are so many different rules and regulatory bodies in other
countries, and often we’d be clearing for a market that we knew nothing
about and had never advertised in before, so finding out where you had
to go and who you had to contact was a challenge! So that part of it was
quite varied.
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Clearcast Newsletter · Spring 2016
Clearcast Newsletter · Spring 2016
41
CAST
Inny & Outty:
we throw the same questions to a Clearcaster…
…and an external buddy.
Inny:
Elliot Lord
Outty:
Aleyna Le Fevre
Compiled by Olivia Quarshie Operations Assistant
Elliot is a Copy Group Manager here at Clearcast
Aleyna is a Senior Production Administrator at Adam and Eve DDB
Who was your best boss and why?
Many aeons ago I was a dancer in Europe briefly for a contemporary dance company.
The choreographer, my boss, was one of the most down to earth enthusiastic, realistic, motivated people I’ve ever met. On days packed with intense rehearsal schedules,
when our bodies felt broken and our minds emptied of tangible thought, she was
able to inspire in us the will to overcome the exhaustion and the pain. To be better.
Who was your best boss and why?
Ron Blades, back in the days of DDB London. Why? He was a legend, called me
‘Bubble’ and we always had medicinal red wine on a Friday afternoon. On a serious
note, he saw the young PA temp in front of him and knew I would suit Admin. He
taught me well and let me manage my own workload from the off.
Weirdest thing you’ve eaten on holiday?
I’ll give anything a go me. The only thing I’ve tried and haven’t yet gone back to is sea
urchin. I was so nauseated by it, but I’ll give it a go again next year though.
If you had a time machine when would you travel to and why?
One of the rules of time travel is to not interfere with the time line. So I would only
ever go back as an observer, and I’d most love to see the BIG BANG!
What is the best thing about your job?
The best thing about it is the people I work with who are a fantastic bunch of
weirdos. But the work itself is great too because it’s ever evolving, and challenging.
Who would play you in a film of your life?
Meryl Streep.
Weirdest thing you’ve eaten on holiday?
I had wild boar in Barbados, that’s about as weird as it gets… I watched my husband
eat a sea urchin in St Lucia… but couldn’t stomach it myself.
If you had a time machine when would you travel to and why?
A teeny tiny part of me would like to go back to the Victorian era, because I love to
ride horses (it would be so much more fun getting to work on one of those) and big
dresses. In all honesty though I’d just like to rewind a few years and do more with my
Dad and the family.
What is the best thing about your job?
I get a real rush when things are crazy busy and down to the wire. Management once
described our department as one similar to that of an air traffic controller. Clients
spend hundreds of thousands of pounds making amazing commercials and once
that’s all done its left to a few individuals to make sure it actually gets on air.
Your favourite TV ad of the last few months?
I’ve done this for a long time now and I’ve grown a hardened skin to it all, however the other day I saw a cancer charity ad. It was so simple. Just a real man, on
his own, receiving his diagnosis of terminal cancer from the doctor in the surgery.
This ad really brought home that horrible moment when someone is told their
life will be taken away and there’s nothing they can do.
Who would play you in a film of your life?
Martine McCutcheon.
What would you change about advertising in the UK?
I’d probably lighten up on some of the ways the rules are interpreted by the regulator. I think viewers are more intelligent than they are sometimes given credit for.
What would you change about advertising in the UK?
I think official guidelines should be put into play regarding usage for online/VOD
which seems to be going through the roof at the moment. Some agents see this as a
licence to print money.
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Clearcast Newsletter · Spring 2016
Your favourite TV ad of the last few months?
The Aldi spin off of our JL Xmas commercial ‘Man on the Moon’ really made me
laugh. Hats off to them turning it around so quickly!
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CAST
5 minutes with… a consultant
Professor Robin Seymour
Compiled by Oliver Golden
Senior Copy Group Executive
Professor Robin Seymour is fairly new to Clearcast, joining our team
of consultants in July last year.
Robin is one of the world’s leading periodontologists, author of many
academic papers and former Head of the School of Dental Sciences
at Newcastle University. He has a particular interest in periodontology and restorative dentistry and continues to lecture, teach and
practise. He is Emeritus Professor of Restorative Dentistry at
Newcastle University and an honorary consultant with the Newcastle
Hospital’s NHS Trust.
And the worst part?
Too early to say, but I recognise time pressure is put on all parties.
What can Advertisers do to speed up the approval of
their claim?
Only provide evidence that relates specifically to their product.
Ideally this should be in the form of peer reviewed clinical trials
published in appropriate journals.
How does working with Clearcast compare with your
usual work?
Now that I have “retired” from a full time academic appointment,
I find working for Clearcast challenging and rewarding.
Want to know more about the work our consultants do? Take a look
at the case study elsewhere in this very newsletter!
Selected consultants are available for Meet The Consultant sessions
- find out more and book a slot here.
What are your first impressions of working with Clearcast?
A competent organisation which is well informed. Sets and maintains high standards.
What are your favourite bits of working with Clearcast?
Obviously looking at claims made by manufacturers of their various
products. In many instances, there is not the robust evidence to
support such claims. Whilst sifting through the back up information
can be tedious, it is often rewarding, especially if the supporting
evidence is weak.
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Clearcast Newsletter · Spring 2016
Clearcast Newsletter · Spring 2016
45
Dear Jackie
Did you know…?
48
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the
back page
THE BACK PAGE
Dear Jackie…
Your ad problems solved by our resident agony aunt
Compiled by Elliot Lord, Copy Group Manager
Dear Jackie,
I had this problem over Xmas a lot, but it’s happened to me at other
times of the year too. Can you tell me why I’m always being asked
to include a scale reference in with my toy ads? I’m never asked to
do it for adult products and I don’t see the point, given that adults
are the ones buying the toys anyway. It’s inconsistent isn’t it?
Thanks, Mr Richard C. Normus
Well hello, Dicky!
I don’t think I’m going to be the first to tell you this but, size really
does matter.
I mean, one of the central tenets of the BCAP code is that advertising must not mislead. More often than not, in ads for products of
general appeal/appeal to adults, you’re dealing with an audience that
has, through life experience, garnered a better sense of the world and
can make an educated guess as to what size products may be. This
won’t always be the case and Clearcast reserves the right to ask that
a scale be made clear if there is a risk, by omission, of misleading the
consumer.
With children’s products the issue becomes concentrated because
of their vulnerability, their lack of maturity and their inability to
make adult-like judgments about ads. It might be a parent or
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Clearcast Newsletter · Spring 2016
guardian that holds the purse strings (maxed out credit card), but it’s
likely to be the child that has taken an interest in the product and it’s
likely to have been as a result of seeing it through the glitz, glamour
and magic of advertising. What the rules are trying to prevent are
adults spending their creditor’s money and children being disappointed because they thought it would be bigger.
There are ways to overcome this in TV advertising but legal supers
are not one of them. We can’t expect children to read the legals —
I don’t! To be fair that’s because I’m usually blind drunk on espresso
martinis by the time I’ve got from the bedroom to the TV room.
It’s a very very long walk between the West and East wings.
The best way to demonstrate scale and, I’m sure most would
agree, is with a hand… or even two. Perhaps holding, touching,
stroking, or playing with the product in general. It gives a very clear
indication of what to expect; but Clearcast know that many advertisers want a cleaner ad that doesn’t have anyone in it at all. In those
circumstances I suggest using a well-known product to scale the
products you’re flogging e.g. DVD, CD, batteries, tennis ball etc.
Basically, something of a standard size that a child is likely to have
seen before. Sometimes, if there’s a range shot of toys, they can
act as a scale reference in themselves. A tricycle, bear, Barbie doll,
Christmas bauble etc. all lined up together are likely to give a clear
comprehension of their scale by their size differentials; kids know
how big a Barbie doll is and they’ll likely know that a bike is at least
big enough for them to sit on and ride, so by way of comparison
they’ll understand the bear isn’t going to be small enough to pop in
your pocket or big enough to fill the void that daddy left when he ran
away with the Spanish Au Pair.
I hope that helps you sweetie, and remember, you can come to
Jackie with all your advertising issues, big and small, Jackie does
them all. Jackie xxx
Clearcast Newsletter · Spring 2016
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THE BACK PAGE
Did you
know…
• The annual Clearcast party was a rip-roaring success. Hordes of
industry hepcats descended on Hixter, Bankside, for an evening
of drinks, dancing and chat. Here are a few pictures from the
evening, check out the photobooth snaps for more!
Jonathan Laury
Communications Executive
• There are recent and upcoming changes in gambling, broadband
and e-cig ad regulations. Keep your eyes peeled on the news and
blog sections of our website, or follow us on Twitter to keep up
with the latest.
• The Clearcast Christmas Jumper
Competition 2015 was a close-fought
battle, with Senior Copy Executive
Jo Walker-Davidson triumphing
over a top-notch field.
• Our CSR programme has continued
apace; volunteers have returned to
the Whitechapel Mission, Copy Group
Manager Cathy Preece is mentoring a
student from the Haverstock School
in Camden and there’s loads more to
come. You can read more about the
work we’ve been getting up to here.
• Towards the end of last year Emily Hornby, Executive Assistant
to our MD, ran the Berlin Marathon and raised £925 for Shelter.
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Clearcast Newsletter · Spring 2016
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