By Sam Smith, MD of Clearcast
When you think of Christmas, chances are Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol springs to mind. It’s one of the most adapted festive stories ever, with over 135 versions for TV and film.
Among them, The Muppet Christmas Carol remains a classic – and a surprisingly useful metaphor for the advertising industry that I shared at the Future Of TV Advertising Global summit earlier this month.
Central to the story is the miserable Scrooge who, thanks to the work of three spirits – the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future – had a chance to imagine a better future.
Famously, for Scrooge, Christmas was a humbug.
Some might see regulation as a humbug, but imagine a world without it. In fact, we don’t even need to imagine – it’s already happening in some places.
In the United States, cable television operates with minimal restrictions, leading to aggressive pharmaceutical ads, patient demands for specific drugs, poor prescriptions, and those infamous side effects that have become cultural jokes, such as “may cause death.”
Globally, social media presents another example, with inconsistent standards, opaque influencer deals, scam ads, harmful content, and an overwhelming flood of diet and cryptocurrency promotions.
This is what an unregulated future looks like. Let’s make sure it’s not ours.
Whilst regulation guides, steers and even restricts advertising, at Clearcast, we see it as a force for good: and one of the very foundations of Trust. One of the reasons why television has stood on higher ground than any other medium over the past 70 years, as you can see in the chart below.
Christmas Past: 70 Years of TV Advertising
This year, in the UK, we are celebrating 70 Years of TV advertising. TV was regulated from day one of ITV’s launch on 22 September 1955 and for 70 years, it’s been the most powerful, effective and influential advertising medium in the world. In fact, it’s regulated precisely because of its power and influence!
Clearcast, and our predecessors, has always been there – not as the regulator – but as a partner to help brands see the opportunities within the guidelines.
That’s the important point: we’re helping… not blocking or ruining your creative idea.
Take the iconic Levi’s Laundrette ad. We helped navigate boundaries, and the result became a cultural phenomenon around boxer shorts! That’s the power of collaboration within guidelines.
Whilst that ad is a classic, it’s 40 years old, so let’s take a visit to Christmas Present for a much more up to date example…
Christmas Present: Regulation in action
Woodman’s Whiskey came to us with an idea about Animated Beavers. Yes, animated beavers, working hard all day and then relaxing with a whiskey in a hot tub they had made themselves.
They’re a very responsible company, and they wanted our help to ensure that this couldn’t be of appeal to children. So, we worked closely with them for some time, making the beavers more realistic and less cute, changing the music, lighting and tone. Enabling them to air the advert, comfortable that they had done everything possible to ensure there was no appeal to the under 25s.
Clearcast is not the regulator (and we are certainly not the police!). Instead, we’re here to help you navigate the rules and see the opportunities.
There is a three-way benefit:
- Publisher
- Brand / agency
- Audience
Everyone wins: Publishers maintain quality. Brands build trust. Audiences get advertising they can believe in.
Yes, regulation can be challenging. But it also establishes the foundations to avoid the Wild West. After all, “With great power comes responsibility.”
Trust is hard won and easily lost. But standards matter and we know they translate into advertising effectiveness. And that’s why we believe other platforms should come up to TV’s standards. Our regulation stops us from dropping to theirs.
And so to the future, of Christmas Yet To Come…
Christmas Yet to Come – Innovation for the Future
Just as Scrooge glimpsed a better future, we’re building one too. Here’s what’s next for Clearcast:
- Firstly, innovation in AI:
You would be astonished if we weren’t investigating AI – and of course we are. We are in partnership with HH Global Ad Signal on tools that can assist our team, speed things up and take away the things that take time but not expertise. Let’s just be clear, you cannot upload the CAP and BCAP rules and assume that you can get AI to clear your ad. You’ll get results that say things like “this ad contains alcohol” (thanks, I work for Diageo, I know that) or “there are rules and restrictions around alcohol ads” (again, did I mention that I work for Diageo?). What you need is the AI to take out manual steps, like checking for version difference, ensuring that substantiation matches claims. AI would not help you clear that Woodman’s Whiskey ad, that takes an expert.
- Secondly, innovation around measurement standards:
We are known for clearance, but Clearcast data and systems are there improving the backbone of the industry and constantly improving and evolving to make measurement and process as good as it can be. To that end we are now part of the IAB’s global registry ACIF, with the Clearcast Clock number even more at the heart of measurement than ever.
- And finally, innovation beyond linear:
You associate us with UK Linear TV. But do you know we clear for Ireland? That we sell access to data for Streamers? That we are in discussions with Influencer agencies? Because the industry has that choice.
When Scrooge changed his future, everyone benefited. Clearcast is here to adapt and help our partners in whatever way needed.
Conclusion
Regulation isn’t humbug. It’s one of the foundations that makes TV advertising wonderful. Something we should embrace and be proud of!
And Clearcast is here to help you navigate it – today and tomorrow, whoever you are, and whatever you want us to check.
In the words of Tiny Tim… “Merry Christmas… God Bless Us, Everyone!”