Getting a TV commercial on air in the UK isn’t quite as simple as making it and sending it off. Every advert has to be approved first by Clearcast, which checks TV adverts against the advertising rules on behalf of the broadcasters. It looks at each one twice, once on paper before anything has been made and again when it’s finished. We go through the process all the time, so here’s how it works, step by step.
New to TV advertising? Start here.
Step 1: The storyboard
It all begins with a script and a storyboard. Think of them as the blueprint for your commercial, because between them they set out the scenes, the dialogue, any text that will appear on screen, and any claims you’re planning to make about your product or service. That’s everything Clearcast needs in order to form a view of the advert, which is why the checking can start long before a camera comes out of its case.
Step 2: Sending the storyboard to Clearcast
Once you’re happy with the storyboard, it goes over to Clearcast, and their team go through it in detail to make sure everything you’re claiming is true. So if you want to say you’re the largest or the cheapest widget shop in the UK, you’ll need the evidence to back it up.
The test is whether a viewer would take a line as a statement of fact. A price, a saving, a survey result or a comparison with a competitor all need something behind them, because the rules require the broadcasters to hold documentary evidence for claims like these, and Clearcast asks for it on their behalf. We’ll tell you what’s likely to be needed and send it in with the script. The sooner it’s gathered the better, because a script can’t be approved while a claim is still waiting for its proof. We’ve written separately about the kinds of line that attract the most questions.
Step 3: Sticking to the BCAP code
Being truthful is only part of it, though, and your commercial also has to follow the rest of the rules, which are set out in the UK Code of Broadcast Advertising. It’s written by the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice, so everybody calls it the BCAP code. It doesn’t matter how creative the advert is, because if it doesn’t follow those rules it isn’t going on air.
The code has general rules for everybody, about not misleading people and not causing harm or serious offence, and then sections for particular kinds of product, such as alcohol, gambling, food, medicines, financial services and cars. That means what Clearcast concentrates on depends largely on what you sell. Clearcast doesn’t write these rules, and it isn’t the body that enforces them once an advert is on air, which is the Advertising Standards Authority’s job. We’ve explained how Clearcast and the ASA fit together in a separate article.
Step 4: Acting on the feedback
What Clearcast does do is tell you where it thinks your script stands, and the reply is rarely a flat yes or no. More often it comes back with comments, which might be a question about what a line means, a request for more evidence, or a note that a claim is acceptable as long as something is added to it. If a claim needs clarifying, for instance, they’ll ask for some small text to be added at the bottom of the screen. That’s a requirement and not a suggestion, and it’s there to keep everything clear for the viewer. The trade calls that text supers, and we’ve written a guide to how supers work.
There’s usually a little back and forth at this point, which we deal with, and occasionally we’ll come back to you with a choice between finding stronger evidence for a line and rewording it. This is the main reason for doing it all before production begins, because changing a sentence in a script takes a few minutes, whereas changing it after the voiceover has been recorded is a much bigger job.
Step 5: Approval before production
Once Clearcast have reviewed and approved everything, it’s time to start making the advert. This stage often takes at least a week, and it can take longer if you’ve got complicated claims that need a lot of evidence, particularly scientific or technical ones, which may be passed to an independent specialist for an opinion. That said, it’s not unusual for a commercial to sail through in a few days, and when a deadline is really tight, clearance can sometimes be turned round faster still.
When Haven Point in South Shields needed to be on ITV for its official opening, we had one week to get the advert filmed, cleared and on air, working with the agency Forward & Thinking, and it went out on the day as planned. That isn’t a timetable to plan around, though, and we’ve written about how long it normally takes to get an advert on air.
Step 6: The finished advert goes back
Approval at the script stage only covers what’s on paper, so when production’s wrapped, the finished commercial goes back to Clearcast for a final review. They check that it matches the storyboard, that it follows the BCAP code, and that there’s nothing in it that could be harmful, such as flashing images, which every advert is checked for with the Harding Test.
The second look is needed because some things can only be judged on screen. A script can say that a car pulls away from the kerb, but it can’t show how fast the car appears to be going, and the same goes for the tone of a performance, or whether the small text stays up long enough to be read. Where something is likely to come down to judgement, an early edit can be sent in for comment before the advert is finished. The advert also mustn’t have drifted from what was approved, because a new line in the voiceover, or an offer that has changed since the script was cleared, counts as a new claim and has to be checked like any other. It’s far better to raise a change at the time than to have it discovered at the end.
Step 7: Any broadcast restrictions
At this point Clearcast might add some conditions about when the advert can and can’t be shown, such as keeping it away from children’s programmes. Some restrictions are attached to the product, so under the code’s scheduling rules adverts for alcohol and gambling are kept away from programmes made for under-18s or likely to appeal particularly to them, and food and drink that’s high in fat, salt or sugar has restrictions of its own. Others are down to what’s in the advert, so something that might frighten a small child could be held back until later in the evening.
A restriction narrows down the airtime that can be bought for your advert, so whoever is planning the campaign needs to know about it. It’s usually possible to see one coming from the script, and if it would rule out the audience you most want to reach, that’s the moment to rethink the idea. Once your commercial has cleared this stage, it’s ready to go.
Step 8: Broadcast
With final approval in place, your advert goes off to the TV channels in the format they ask for, ready for the world to see. The approval belongs to that exact version of the advert, so if you later want to change the price, swap the offer or put a new end date on a sale, the new version has to be cleared as well. If you know from the start that you’ll want more than one version, tell us at the script stage, so that they can all be planned and cleared alongside each other.
Being cleared means the broadcasters are satisfied that your advert meets the code, but it isn’t a guarantee, because viewers can still complain to the ASA once it’s on air, and now and again the ASA takes a different view. We’ve told the stories of some well-known adverts that were banned.
We can handle all of this for you
Getting from storyboard to screen involves a lot of steps, but you don’t have to do it on your own. Clearcast clearance comes as standard with every commercial we produce, so the most you’re likely to be asked for is the evidence behind a claim and the occasional decision about wording. If you’ve already had an advert made elsewhere and simply need it cleared, we offer that as a separate service too.
You can find out more on our Clearcast clearance page, or get in touch and we’ll talk you through it.