Creative Guidelines

Regular Programming:

The guidelines for corporate messages on public television leave ample room for creativity and stylishness. Many companies run their existing spot on our air. Others find that a small change in voiceover is all it takes to fit the non-promotional environment of Public Television.

Your credit may:

• Describe your business
• Describe your corporate mission
• Identify and depict products
• Use a slogan
• Use an 800# and a telephone number
• Use music
• Make an association between your company and the program

To maintain public television's non-commercial character, the FCC has determined that sponsor credit may not:

• Use comparative or qualitative language (efficient, economical, dependable, prompt, leading, reliable, excellent)
• Offer price, discount or financing information (offering a discount, financing is available)
• Uses a call-to-action (stop by our showroom, come on out, call today)
• Include any inducement to buy (Free service, special gift, bonus, guarantees)
• Feature on-camera dialogue of any kind

However, recent changes to the PBS guidelines offer a more holistic approach that makes better sense in today's medica environment. While the PBS guidelines have long recognized that it is impossible to anticipate every use or possible combination of creative elements that might make an underwriting announcement unacceptably promotional, use of the following should no longer be considered as inherently promotional, or contributing to a promotional tone, in and of themselves:

1. Speaking on camera
2. Lyrics to music
3. Product sound effects
4. People with product
5. Employees with customers

Other rigid rules in the same vein, such as the structure for presenting phone number and/or web address, are also deleted. In addition, PBS is now more inclined to accept the kinds of well-established corporate slogans that the FCC has historically characterized as acceptable identification despite containing some promotional language.