Sponsor (Oct-Dec 1959)

CODE COMMITTEE is headed by 0. H. McGannon (I), pres., Westinghouse Bdcstg., working with E. K. Hartenbower (r), KCMO-TV, Kansas City; Gaines Kelley, WFMY-TV, Greensboro, N. C; Joseph Herold, KBTV, Denver; Mrs. A. Scott Bullitt, KING-TV, Seattle. Code and Federal Trade Commission stipulations are primary guides such advertisino;. However, a television broadcaster should, in recognition of his responsibility to the public, refuse the facilities of his station to an advertiser where he has good reason to doubt the integrity of the advertiser, the truth of the advertising representations, or the compliance of the advertiser with the spirit and purpose of all applicable legal requirements. Moreover, in consideration of the laws and customs of the communities served, each television broadcaster should refuse his facilities to the advertisement of products and services, or the use of advertising scripts, which the station has good reason to believe would be objectionable to a substantial and responsible segment of the community. The foregoing principles should be applied with judgment and flexibility, taking into consideration the characteristics of the medium and the form and content of the particular presentation. In general, because television broadcasting is designed for the home and the family, including children, the following principles should govern the business classifications listed below : a) The advertising of hard liquor should not be accepted. b) The advertising of beer and wines is acceptable only when presented in the best of good taste and discretion, and is acceptable only subject to Federal and local laws. c) Advertising by institutions or enterprises which in their offers of instruction imply promises of employment or make exaggerated claims for the opportunities awaiting those who enroll for courses is generally unacceptable. d) The advertising of firearms and fireworks is acceptable only subject to Federal and local laws. e) The advertising of fortune-telling, occultism, astrology, phrenology, palm-reading, numerology, mind-reading, character reading or subjects of a like nature is not permitted. f I Because all products of a personal nature create special problems, such products, when accepted, should be treated with especial emphasis on ethics and the canons of good taste. Such advertising of personal products as is accepted must be presented in a restrained and obviously inoffensive manner. The advertising of intimately personal products which are generally regarded as unsuitable conversational topics in mixed social groups is not acceptable. g) The advertising of tip sheets, race track publications, or organizations seeking to advertise for the purpose of giving odds or promoting betting or lotteries is unacceptable. 2. Diligence should be exercised to the end that advertising copy accepted for telecasting complies with pertinent Federal, state and local laws. 3. An advertiser who markets more than one product should not be permitted to use advertising copv devoted to an acceptable product for purposes of publicizing the brand name or other identification of a product which is not acceptable. 4. "Bait-switch" advertising, whereby goods or services which the advertiser has no intention of selling are offered merely^ to lure the customer into purchasing higher-priced substitutes, is not acceptable. Advertising; of medical products 1. The advertising of medical products presents considerations of intimate and far-reaching importance to the consumer, and the following principles and procedures should apply in the advertising thereof: a) A television broadcaster should not accept advertising material which in his opinion offensively describes or dramatizes distress or morbid situations involving ailments, by spoken word, sound or visual effects. b) Because of the personal nature of the advertising [Please turn to page 48) SPONSOR 5 DECEMBER 1959 41