Variety (Apr 1939)

24 VARIETT RADIO Wedneeday* April 5, 1939 NBC^S TENTATIVE PROGRAM CODE IINACCEPTABCE BUSINESS As a protection to the public and in accordance with the basic standards of the Company, a number of products and cervices are not acceptable for broadcast advertising on the Company'^ networks oc operated stations. Sound principles of professional business and social ethics have served as a guide in formulating these standards. In cases where the nature of a product or service may affect the sensibilities of ' listeners adversely; accounts may also be rejected. Of course, many accounts. offered the Company , may not fall into any of the classifications that are listed below. In Euch instances the Company considers them individually and reserves the right to decide upon their suitability to broad- cast advertising. In reaching its decisions in matters of this kind, the Company considers the interests of the advertiser as well as those of the public and its own. The following classifications of products and services are ' unacceptable, for broadcast over the facilities of the Com- pany: 1. Professions In which it Is conceded to be unethical to advertise. For example, doctors, lawyers, dentists, and others. ■ 2. AH forms of speculative finance and real estate in- » tended to promote the purchase of specific stocks, bonds, properties, etc. Proposed programs advertising the general services of financial institutions will be subject to. approval in each specific case after consideration of company policies in light of federal, state and local regulations relating thereto. 3. Cathartics, including foods or beverages advertised for their value as cathartics. Also products generally known and used exclusively as cathartics, even wh«n cathartic ref- erencies'are not made in advertising broadcast copy. 4. Personal hygiene products, including body deodorants or products advertised for that purpose. 5. Reducing agents as well as foods and beverages de- signed solely to perform that function. 6 Products to restore natural color to hair, eyebrow dyes, hair growers, depUatories, and producU advertised to remove wrinkles. • 7. All forms of fortune telling and any such services which may be construed to belong in this general field, 8. Cemeteries, memorial parks, morticians, casket manu- Jacturers, tombstone builders, etc 9. Alcoholic beverages. 10. Firearms and fireworks. CHILDREN'S PROGRAMS Because of the obligation of the National Broadcasting Co. to its juvenile audience, it is necessary that meticulous super- vision be eicercised over all programs appealing to children, end therefore we must insist that scripts of children's pro- grams be submitted a minimum of three business days In advance of the broadcast All standards of thU Company shaU apply to children's programs, and, in addition, the following specific standards Diust be followed: 1. AU scripts for children's programs must be carefully written, having in mind the particular audience for which they are intended. 2. AlI.stories must reflect respect for law and-order, adult authority, good morals and clean living. The hero or heroine and other sympathetic characters must be portrayed as in- telligent and morally courageous. The theme must stress the importance of mutual respect—one man for another and should emphasize the desirability of fair play, and honor- able behavior. Cowardice, malice, deceit, selfishness and dis- respect for law must be avoided as traits In any character that may be presented in the light of a hero to the child listener. Adventure stories may be accepted subject to the following prohibitions: 1. No torture or suggestion of torture. 2. No horror—present or impending. 3. No use of the supernatural or of superstition likely to arouse fear. 4. No profanity or vulgarity. 5. No kidnapping or threats of kidnapping. 6. In order , that children will not be emotionally upset, no pro.^-am or episode shall end with an incident which will CKate in their minds morbid suspense or hysteria.' 7. Dramatic action should not be over-accentuated through gun play or through other methods of violence. To prevent the overstimulation of the child's imagination, sound effects Intended to anticipate or simulate either death or physical torture are not permitted. CommeriAal Copy It is consistent that fair play and considerate behavior be reflected through the . commercial copy as in the script itselt Advice *to be sure to tell mother'—'ask mother to buy'— must be limited to twice in the program. The child is more credulous, as a general thing, than the adult Therefore the greatest possible pare must be used to see that .no misleading or extravagant statement be made in commercial copy on children's programs. When promises are made as to the benefits to be derived from use of the product advertised, it will be necessary to submit proof that such promises can be kept Gt/t Offers 1. Contests and offers which encourage children to enter strange places and to converse with strangers in an effort to collect numbers of box-tops or wrappers may present a defi- nite element of danger to the children. Therefore, such con- tests and offers are not acceptable. 2. No appeal may be made to the child to help characters In the story by sending in box-tops or wrappers; nor niay any actors remain in character and. In the commercial copy, address the. child, urging him to purchase the product in order to keep the program on the air or make ai. appeal of any other nature. 3. No premium that depends upon its alleged 'luck' bear- ing powers for its attractiveness or In any fashion appeals to superstition will be approved. 4. The forming of cluM Is often Introduced on children's programs. Sometimes initiation requirements and other rules of such clubs are disseminated in code form. Full de- tails concerning the organization of a children's secret society or code must be submitted" to the National BroadcasUhg Com- pany at least ten business days before its Introduction on the air. 5. The National Broadcasting Co. must be given assurance. that no premium offered oyer Its facilities is harmful to per- son or properly. CONTESTS AND OFFERS 1. Full details of proposed offers. Including samples of premiums and 'build-up' copy must be' submitted for investi- gation and approval at least five full business days, before the first announcement is to be broadcast 2. No premium that depends upon its alleged 'luck' bear- ing powers for its attractiveness or In any fashion appeals to superstition can be approved. 3. Announcement of all approved offers must mention the termination date at least two weeks before the offer is with- drawn. Should tiie offer be good for a period imder the two weeks, the closing date must be announced when the offer is first broadcast 4. If consideration is required, the advertiser must agree to honor any complaints indicating dissctlsfaction with premium by returning the consideration. The advertiser must also hold NBC and the stations free from all liability ia connection with the offer. Where offers require a considera- tion, the premium may not be described as a 'gift' or as 'free.' 5. Dramatic action of radio drama may not be used as a basis of appeal for help in the commercial r''lotion of the program. The fictitious character ot the radio play may not be introduced into the commercial as follows: 'By sending in a box-top (wrapper or other consideration, including money) you wIU help Widow Jones to pay off the mortgage' or "you will help to send Johnny to school.' This is an approach to the public on a false premise, since such an emergency is a matter of fiction and not ot fact Proposed prize contests must be submitted to NBC in ad- vance of the first public announcement in.any medium and at least ten days prior to the first broadcast of information concerning such contest NBC will, permit the broadcasting only of contests which comply with the following regula- tions: . 1. Contests must offer the opportunity to all contestants to win on-the basis of ability and skill .rather than on'chance. Games of chance are not acceptable. The basis upon which contestants' submissions are judged must be clearly stated in each announcement of the contest The opinion of the judges is final and must be so stated in the continuity. Closing date of the contest must be made known to NBC when the con- test goes on the air. If the contest is to be of short duration, its closing date must be stated during the first broadcast announcement of the contest; U ot long duration, the termina- tion date must be announced at least two weeks prior to the closing date. While clients may require contestants to sub-, mit box-tops, wrappers or other evidence of purchase Of products, it is recommended they also provide that reasonable facsimiles thereof will be equal^ acceptable. 2. When contests are conducted by the advertiser, de- cisions should be made promptly and the names of winners must be released as soon as possible thereafter. The an- nouncement, whenever possible, should be made during a later program of the same series. When the making of the complete announcement is undesirable because of its length, NBC should be supplied with the names of winners and other necessary information so that it may be' In a position to answer inquiries which it receives. 3. liOng, involved, or complicated offers which may con- fuse the audience and anything that may create iU-wiU on the part of non-winnbrs must be avoided. '4. Contest awards or prize's must be approved by NBC prior to the first announcement of the contest BASIC PROGRAM STANDARDS 1. The deity's pame, powers .and attributes are permissible only when used reverently. Only when the sacrament ot baptism, marriage, and burial are used reverently and are absolutely essential to the plot may they be included in script 2. Statements and suggestions which are offensive to re- ligious views, racial characteristics and the like must not appear in the program. 3.. Material which depends upon physical imperfections or deformities such as blindness, deafness, or lameness, for humorous effect is not acceptable. 4. Sacrilegious, profane, salacious, obscene, vulgar or - in- decent material is not acceptable for broadcast, and no lan- guage of doubtful propriety will be used. si. The introduction of murder or suicide is definitely dis- couraged at all times, and no details as to the technique em- ployed may be given. It is the aim of the Company to pro- vide drama plots free ot morbidity and depressing effects. 6. No description ot anti-social practices may be men- tioned in radio programs, and mention of such practices must, in many cases, be avoided. 7. Emphasis on insobriety is not permitted. 8. Figures of national prominence as well a? the peoples of all nations shall be presented with fairness and considera- tion, 9. Except in Uie case of factual news statements, appear- ances of or reference to persons featured in criminal or morbidly sensational news stories are not acceptable. 10. The use of the word 'flash' is reserved for the an- nouncement of special news biiUeUris exclusively and may not be used for any other purpose except in rare cases where by reason of the manner in which It is used no possible confusion may result 11. False and misleading statements and all other forms of misrepresentations must be avoided. This applies to misrep. resentation of locale or program as well as to all other mat* ters. Advertising Standards So that there may be no misrepresentation, announcement of sponsorship must be made on all commercial programis. Tii order that programs fnay be Individual'and distinctive, and thus maintain the interest ot the audience, they should not resemble too closely other programs. Since the primary purpose of the broadcast program is to please or enlighten the listener, the program should be designed to provide good entertainment or agreeable instruction. To attain these ends,' thei avoidance of unpleasant or gruesome statements is essen- tial. Courtesy and good taste should govern the manner in which announcements are made. Statements which tend to undermine an industry by at- tributing to its products generally faults and weaknesses true only ot a tew and statements which are derogatory to an individual, an institution, a group or an industry are considered by this Company to be linfalr business practices and will not be permitted. Libel and slander must of course, be avoided. CROSS REFERENCE When an advertiser using more than one network for ad- vertising of the same or other ot his products finds it de- sirable to refer to his program .on a competing network, such reference must be confined to mention of tl e tlUe ot' his program, the product advertised, the talent employed and the day on which the program is broadcast Mention ot th« hour or the broadcasting facilities used may not be made. The necessity tor enforcing these standards is clear when one realizes that NBC discourages all types of announce- ments which might in any way divert part of an audience from one network or station to another. As' everyone knows, the real-strength ot any station or group of stations depends largely on their ability, first, to attract and, secondly, to retain the sustained and loyal attention of an audience. The effectiveness ot all radio facilities tor advertising purposes must be based on this magnetic influence which builds and holds the listening audience together. Naturally, any an- nouncement which refers to another program broadcast from some other source, whether or not it may be competitive^ greatly weakens this effort ot a network or station to keep its audience intact For this reason, cross-roference must b* avoided, regardless of whether or not such reference is mad* to programs on other NBC tacilities or to programs on sta- tions or networks operated by competing companies. Tiresome repetition or too much detail s>ould be avoided, For instance, instead of reiterating the advertiser's nanie and address when inviting mail, the public should be requested to send their responses in care.ot the station over which th» program is heard. It should, ot course, be needless to state.tiiat false and mis- leading statements and all other forms ot misrepresentation are entirely contrary to public Interest and must be elimi- nated. This applies to the locale of a program as well as t« all other matters ot misrepresentatioa It may not be stated that a program is coming from another point when in reality It is coming from a broadcasting studio. The Company reserves the right to investigate the accuracy ot all statements and claims made in .opy submitted tor broadcast over its stations and cannot accept statements or claims that cannot be proved to its satisfaction. As a safeguard against misuse ot broadcast facilities tor imfalr competition, commercial programs shall not refer to any competitor, or his products, directly cr indirectly, by company name, by individual name or by brand name. It is necessary that statements of prices and values b« conflned to specific tacts. Misleading price claims or mis- leading comparisons tend to challenge the Integrity ot all advertising and must not be used. It is also well to avoid broadcasting the prices ot several articles in quick succes- sion, as this is apt to contuse the listener. When dramatized commercials are used that involve state* ments by doctors, dentists, druggists, nurses or other profes* sional persons, the lines must be read by members of these professions reciting actual experiences, or explanation must be made by the announcer that the scenes enacted are ficti- tious. Any plans tor displays, sampling or distribution of ma- terial on NBC premises should be discussed v 1th the Com- pany at least a week prior to the broadcast at which it U intended any of these are to be introduced. 'Wherever pos- sible, the Company will endeavor to assist the advertiser to carry out his plans. There are products, however, that may not suitably be introduced for sampling in studios, an^ there are times when displays may conflict with the preceding program. Therefore, the Company asks to be advised ot th« advertiser's plans along these lines and reserves the right to reject them it found to be impossible ot execution. When a living character is Impersonated, authorizi^tlon ct impersonation must be furnished and announcement must be made clear at least once in the program that impersona- tion was. made. The laws ot a number of states prohibit the use of a per* son's name or likeness (photographic or otherwise) for trad* or advertising purposes without the written consent of suck person. When there is submitted to NBC any script contain- ing a testimonial or other use ot a person's name tor trade or advertising purposes, it must be accompanied by an origi- nal or photostatic copy of the written consent of the person whose name is to be used. Upon request original consents will be returned to the agency tor its flies ifter : copy has been made by NBC. Testimonials must reflect the authenticated experiences or opinions ot competent living witnesses, and '.estimonlals will not be accepted that contain claims imacceptable in other . forms of commercial copy. Announcers or other representatives of the Company may not give testimonials on the air, and endorsement of the ad- vertiser's product or. promises tot its performance may not be given in the flrst person singular by Compa.'iy memben.