4. Particular Separations of Advertisements and Programmes

GENERAL NOTES:
(i) The term 'adjacent' where used in these rules refers to a break immediately before or after the programme in question.

(ii) The term 'children's programmes' means programmes made for children.

(iii) Channels devoted to children's programmes, or where the programmes are or are likely to be of particular appeal to children, will be unlikely to be able to carry at any time advertising of the kind restricted under 4.2.1 and 4.2.2 below. Such channels should also take particular note of 4.2.3 and 4.2.4.

(iv) For the avoidance of doubt, any given timing restriction subsumes any other less severe restriction. Thus, a 'post 9pm' subsumes both a 'post 7.30pm' as well as the restriction on scheduling in or adjacent to children's programmes or programmes likely to have a significant child audience. Particular care needs to be exercised where a programme for, or likely to be of interest to, children is transmitted late in the evening or in the small hours, as for example at Christmas. Where such a programme is transmitted after 9pm, no advertisement carrying a timing restriction may be transmitted in or around that programme.

(i) alcoholic drinks containing 1.2 per cent alcohol or more by volume; (See also 4.2.5 below.)

(ii) bingo;

(iii) the rules in the ITC Advertising Standards Code to the rules in Appendix 5, Religious Advertising, of the ITC Advertising Standards Code; (Rule 13(b) of Appendix 5 of the Code makes limited exceptions to this restriction.)

(iv) slimming products, treatments or establishments.

(i) lotteries;

(ii) pools.

(i) female sanitary protection products.

(i) drinks containing less than 1.2 per cent alcohol by volume when presented as low or no-alcohol versions of an alcoholic drink;

(ii) liqueur chocolates;

(iii) matches;

(iv) medicines, vitamins and other dietary supplements;

(v) trailers for films or videos carrying an 18 or 15 certificate.

NOTES:

(i) Depending on content and, in particular, on the extent and nature of any portrayal of violence or sexual activity, an alternative timing restriction such as post 7.30pm, post 9pm or even later may often be appropriate for material in category (d)(v), particularly that which is 18 rated.

(ii) Again subject to content, this does not preclude the scheduling in or adjacent to children's programmes of advertisements containing brief extracts from films where these are used in connection with promotional offers derived from films for other types of product or service.

NOTE:

The ITC reserves the right to require a wider separation in the case of some programmes, including a prohibition of any advertising while a particular series is running. See also 4.2.7 (c) below.

(i) advertisements in which children are shown having any medicine, or vitamin or other dietary supplement administered to them;

(ii) advertisements for medicines, vitamins or other dietary supplements which use techniques that are likely to appeal particularly to children, such as cartoons, toys or characters of special interest to children;

(iii) condoms.

NOTE:
The Commission has agreed that, subject to copy content, the restriction on the advertising of condoms on Channel 4 will until further notice be 7pm.

(i) alcoholic drinks containing 1.2 per cent alcohol or more by volume. (See also 4.2.1 (a) above.)

(i) Advertisements which fail to be considered under any part of Appendix 4 of the ITC Advertising Standards Code ­ Charity Advertising.

NOTES:
(i) No separation is required in respect of advertisements broadcast in or adjacent to feature films which, for the purposes of this rule, are defined as dramas which are created for the cinema and first shown theatrically or for direct video release.

(ii) No separation is required in respect of advertisements broadcast in or adjacent to news programmes or immediately topical current affairs programmes.

(iii) An incidental and non-speaking appearance in a programme by a person (eg, where a star player is seen only as part of a team in the broadcast of a sporting occasion) will not attract the restriction, provided it is immediately and clearly apparent from the style of the advertisement that the individual's appearance in it could not be taking place at the same location as that of the programme.

(iv) Advertisements containing appearances by persons in extracts from other programme footage should adopt the scheduling restriction of 4.2.8 below. Where the person themselves presented the advertisement the full separation in 4.2.7(a) would apply.

(v) In the case of appearances by persons in magazine-style programmes or programmes such as pop concerts or variety shows, the restriction applies only to the breaks adjacent to the programme segment in which they appear.

NOTE:
4.2.7(c) does not apply to public service advertisements or to characters specially created for advertisements. (See also 4.2.4 (a) above.)

NOTE:
In the case of advertisements containing extracts from children's programmes the two hour restriction in 4.2.2 above applies.

NOTE:
(i) This restriction does not apply to public service announcements transmitted in and around news and current affairs programmes which may show all or part of that announcement as part of the editorial content.

(ii) The ITC Programme Code has specific requirements regarding advertisements within programmes (see Section 10.6). See also Section 10.3 for rules specific to the promotion of material in direct support of programmes.

(i) not first and/or last in any advertising break;

(ii) not in the two hours preceding or following a particular programme;

(iii) not for the duration of a programme series;

(iv) not for the duration nor for a given period after and/or before the series;

(v) not before 7.30pm;

(vi) not in or adjacent to programmes with a specific audience index.