Clearcast Autumn Newsletter 2014

Clearcast Newsletter Autumn 2014

CLEARCAST NEWSLETTERAUTUMN 2014

EditorEllie Powell

ContributorsAlice Shelley Barry NooneChris MundyEllie PowellElliot LordJen MaguireJoanne Walker-DavidsonJonathan LauryJustyna ShalaKristoffer HammerMatthew BailyNiamh McGuinnessSeb LynchVicki Ford

Design We Made Thiswww.wemadethis.co.uk

INTRODUCTION Hello from Chris Mundy 4

CLEAR 2014 Agency Survey 8Ads at Christmas 12Bringing down the borders 14Oh no! My contact is off sick 17Ingredient free claims 19How are we doing? Our mid-year service levels 20Local TV clearance 22Ovo Energy – a Copy Development case study 23What has Clearcast’s Teleshopping team been up to? 26

CAST Movers and Shakers 30A novelist in our midst – Jonathan Laury 325 minutes with a consultant – Dr Harriet Scorer 35Inny & Outty 38

THE BACK PAGEDear Jackie 42Did you know…? 44

Clearcast Newsletter · Autumn 2014 32 Clearcast Newsletter · Autumn 2014

http://www.wemadethis.co.uk

4 Clearcast Newsletter · Autumn 2014 Clearcast Newsletter · Autumn 2014 5

We’ve made a number of changes over the last few years which help account for improvements in satisfaction, one being the introduction of the New Business Team. Last month we passed a milestone of 1,000 agencies, being less familiar with TV and needing a little extra support, that have been looked after by the team. We’ve added resource to ensure we do this smoothly and this will benefit all agen-cies as our other copy staff can focus all their efforts on clearing copy for those that are familiar with the process.

So to this issue of the newsletter. There’s something useful for every-one, but I particularly recommend the latest advice on Christmas Ads (where our guidance has changed), the article on Cover when your copy executive is away (which we know sometimes causes frus-trations) and International Marketing (where we can help make your life easier in a number of ways). Oh and I’ve learned what a par-aben is, and you can too!

Finally, if you haven’t been to our website for a while, take a look. It’s been totally revamped, is useable while you’re on a shoot as it works on mobile devices, and includes a completely rewritten and searchable knowledge base.

Chris

www.clearcast.co.uk

INTRODUCTION

Hello

Chris MundyManaging Director

It’s been a busy year so far at Clearcast. In particular, we have begun migrating agencies to our new copy clearance system, CopyCentral and this process will continue until all agencies are on the new sys-tem and we’ve closed down open submissions on Adway. If you’re a super user on the system, look out for emails on the migration to help make the process as smooth as possible for you and your team. A lot of hard work has gone in to date, here at Clearcast, by agencies that have helped feed into and test the system, by Hogarth who have been developing it and at Adstream who have worked hard to help us have a smooth migration. To all of you, thanks!

In advance of the transition, we undertook an agency survey to see how we’ve progressed since our last one in 2012 and provide a bench-mark for a year’s time when we’ll have completed the migration pro-cess and be working fully on the new system. We’ve been pleased to see that despite increasing volumes, satisfaction with Clearcast in key areas has continued to improve (and virtually all measures have either improved or stayed stable). We’re not resting on our laurels; we’re focusing on a few areas, such as consistency, where the survey suggests we can do better.

http://www.clearcast.co.uk


2014 Agency Survey 8Ads at Christmas 12Bringing down the borders 14Oh no! My contact is off sick 17Ingredient free claims 19How are we doing? Our mid-year service levels 20Local TV clearance 22Ovo Energy – a Copy Development case study 23

What has Clearcast’s Teleshopping team been up to? 26

clear

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Ellie PowellCommunications Executive

Here at Clearcast, we believe strongly in listening to what you have to say about how well we’re providing the services we offer. Our core service continues to be approving your ads on behalf of the UK’s six major broadcasters and most of the survey questions are centred around this activity, but it’s also useful for us to understand your awareness and perceptions of our other services too.

2014Agency Survey

The agency survey, which we launched back in 2009, is one channel we use to see how we’re doing and identify areas where there’s room for improvement. Thanks to those who took the time to complete the survey – your responses are certainly valuable to us and really do help us make improvements where they’re needed.

Below are this year’s headlines; we’ve achieved lots of best ever scores, which is great to see but also, as in previous years, identified areas where we’d like to improve.

We saw a record proportion in the number of you who feel we serve you very well or quite well – 78%, up from 74% in 2012 (the last sur-vey) with the proportion saying very well at its highest yet at 30%. This figure has been improving steadily since 2009.

As many as 71% of you (the largest number yet) said your experience of working with us is good or excellent, and we also saw the highest ever proportion saying excellent, at 23%.

It’s great to see our training programme is so well known in the industry, but not surprising after five fantastic years which have seen well over a thousand of you walk through our doors for a session. A healthy 78% of you said you are aware of the popular CPD courses for agencies, advertisers and broadcasters. Of those attending, an impressive 84% said the courses were good or very good.

It looks like we need to do a bit more to make you aware of our other services like our International Ad Compliance Training videos and our Copy Development service, so make sure you turn to page 14 for some related enlightenment!

‘Despite the fact that

Clearcast seem to turn around more

ads than ever, the process seems to be getting

speedier.’

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Over 80% of you say we deliver (quite or very well) on Respect and Expertise and nearly three quarters rate us as Just and Fair. Consist-ency has been previously identified as an area of further development and as a result perceptions of consistency have improved to 69% now saying we deliver on this. We’ll continue to work to improve the con-sistency of our service as well as being seen as solutions orientated (66%).

One major thing we’ve been really keen to do over the last few years is to clearly convey our role in the industry. It’s important to us that we’re not viewed as the regulator… because we’re not; that’s Ofcom and the ASA’s job. So we were really pleased that this year, for the first time, a greater proportion of you agreed that our role is to work with agencies to get advertising to air rather than regulate advertising or provide consumer protection.

Thanks once again to all of you who responded, let’s hope we give you reason to score us even higher next time.

The survey showed us some of you haven’t been fully satisfied with the way your work is covered when your usual Clearcast contact is away. Please do check out the article on page 17 which talks you through how and why we do things the way we do in respect to cover.

In an industry with ever shortening deadlines, we know how impor-tant turnaround times are to you. Despite increasing volumes, we have maintained satisfaction with our turnaround times at 57% say-ing good or excellent. We’re always looking for ways to improve our turnaround times, within the constraints of doing the job we are here to do properly. Last year we increased our SLA targets and we con-tinue to achieve these (see page 20 for our mid-year results). Encour-agingly a record 23% of you told us you thought our turnaround times were excellent.

Below are some great comments about our turnaround times:“Despite the fact that Clearcast seem to turn around more ads than ever, the process seems to be getting speedier.”

“We sometimes have to act quite quickly on campaigns at short notice and the teams have worked brilliantly in helping us achieve this.”

The percentage of you who are unhappy with turnaround times has dramatically reduced year on year (36% in 2009, 25% in 2010, 21% in 2011, 20% in 2012 and 18% in 2014) and we will continue to try to bring this down.

We’ve seen a significant increase in the amount of you who strongly agree we deliver our values which are Respect, Expert, Just & Fair, Consistent and Solutions-Oriented.

80

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· Mirrors hanging above fireplaces· Decorations on the mantelpiece (as long as they’re not dangling down)· Stockings hanging to the side of the fireplace (and not in any danger of catching fire)

This is all dependent on a fireguard being in place and the fire itself not looking out of control. We will be looking at each fireplace on a case by case basis, so anything that looks like a bona fide fire hazard will still be rejected – stockings too close to flames, candles among flammable decorations for example – and if we receive an adjudica-tion that sets a precedent then our view could change. Keep your eyes peeled for news articles on our website should that happen.

That’s number one on the Clearcast Christmas chart, here’s a run-down of the rest of the top 5:• If you reveal the shocking truth about Santa’s identity be prepared

for an ex-kids restriction on your ad.• It can cause offence to use traditional hymns in adverts designed

to sell products, so please avoid this. Opt for carols and the pop classics!

• Unexpected snowballs, or any snowball to the face is likely to be met with an ex-kids restriction.

• There are strict rules about advertising toys – demos need to be accurate, scale references need to be included, anything over £30 should be priced and if batteries are sold separately you’ll need to tell the kiddiwinks.

May your Christmas be filled with novelty ties and no sign of immod-erate drinking. Ho. Ho. Ho.

Ads at ChristmasJonathan LauryCopy Group Executive

Avid readers may remember our Christmas guidelines popping up in previous newsletters, but we’ve got some brand spanking new guidance for this year.

Here at Clearcast, Christmas means one thing above all others: fire-places. It’s a debate that’s been raging since the dawn of time and raises its head amid groans of despair in our morning viewing as San-ta’s sleigh gets ever closer. In past years we’ve been very strict about decorated fireplaces (no mirror hanging above, no festooned mantel-pieces, no stockings by the side), but after much discussion we have decided to relax our view. So, to begin our festive countdown, we are now allowing the following in principle:

CLEAR


As advertising is becoming increasingly international, there are certain sectors, such as alcohol and food advertising that are expe-riencing further restrictions on a national or regional level – never has there been more of a need to seek advice and get your ads right first time. We have listened to the needs of agencies and advertisers on how to extend our services and here is how the newly developed industry wide resource for all media will work:

International Ad Compliance Training The International Ad Compliance Training (IACT) programme that we have developed in partnership with the European Advertising Standards Alliance provides training days with experts from across the world, taking you through the core areas of ad regulation, from misleadingness, taste and offence to specific sectors, such as food and drink and car advertising. All sessions are then made available to watch online.

We are already working with some of the sectors above to provide further in-depth training in sector-specific ad codes, which all practi-tioners in those sectors should be fully trained in.

G-RegsFrom this autumn, G-Regs, the marketing communications regula-tion database which has all the rules for ten sectors in ten countries in Europe will be available through IACT. To give you an example of how this could work – you could watch the IACT video on car adver-tising ad regulation in France as well as access the complete regula-tion document for the sector in the country. G-Regs is starting with a few important sectors across Europe, but will keep growing in scope.

Bringing down the borders for international marketing Kristoffer HammerHead of Business Development

Do you know how you’ll make sure your next international campaign is compliant? We do!

This autumn we’re extending our services to become a one-stop shop for international marketing compliance in any medium. With our international copy advice and clearance service already up and run-ning, as well as our international training programme, we’re looking forward to adding the Global Marketing Communications Regula-tions database (G-Regs) to our range of services. So read on to find out more!

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Covering for absent colleagues is one of the single most challenging aspects of organising Clearcast’s work flow on a daily basis. Copy work at Clearcast is shared out on a portfolio basis, so the relation-ship between agency and contact is a close one and the background knowledge that contact has is both wide and deep. Hardly surprising then that your contact’s absence – whether planned or unplanned – is generally met with weeping and wailing and a panicky ‘who’s going to be dealing with their work?’

Alice ShelleyCopy Group Manager

Oh no! My contact is off sick!

Copy DevelopmentTo complete the picture, our Copy Development service offers advice on getting your creative and claims right. It’s true, Copy Develop-ment is focused on helping you to comply with UK regulation – but it could also give you a head start before starting the international compliance job.

All of the International Ad Compliance services are available now and prices start from £25.

Visit www.clearcast.co.uk for more info

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In a world where more and more naturally sourced products are available, Clearcast is seeing an increasing amount of ads for cosmet-ics that claim to be free of certain ingredients.

We have, for example seen claims that cosmetics are ‘paraben free’. Parabens are chemicals that act as preservatives in cosmetics. Such claims, inevitably, require a high level of substantiation in their sup-port and we take our lead on the acceptability of this type of claim from our cosmetic/dermatology consultants.

In assessing ingredient free claims our consultants will, as a mini-mum, want to see:

• The International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients (INCI) list showing that the relevant ingredient is not included

• A statement from the raw material supplier that the relevant ingredient is not included

• In the case of parabens, a proven and calibrated test for parabens to prove its absence

Clearcast may ask for a claim to be amended or removed if advertis-ers can’t provide all of the above.

Niamh McGuinnessHead of Copy Clearance

Ingredient free claims

Cover will often be dealt with by our dedicated cover team but, when a lot of people are off, it will be shared between the cover team and the rest of the copy clearance team.

To arrange cover as seamlessly as possible, we have to remain flex-ible, so we allocate cover on a daily basis depending on who’s in the office and who’s out. We know that continuity is important to an agency but, for operational reasons, it isn’t always possible to have the same person covering an absent colleague for the whole period of their absence.

Knowing how important cover is to agencies, we are constantly striv-ing to streamline and improve our cover arrangements. To that end we have recently increased the number of dedicated cover staff. The cover team now consists of four people working a mixture of full and part time, and in normal circumstances (even the cover team occa-sionally have holidays or go sick!) there will always be a minimum of two dedicated cover people available.

However hard we try though, we know that the person covering won’t have the background knowledge that the agency contact has, so we always say to agencies: please help us to help you. Give us as much background information as you can. In particular if scripts contain previously approved claims, please give us details. The more you help us, the faster we can turn round the work until the day your errant contact returns to the fray.

20 Clearcast Newsletter · Autumn 2014

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Clearcast has published service level targets which we consistently strive to achieve, even during the busiest of periods when volumes of work can be very high. We aim to respond to 85% of script submis-sions within four days and to turn around 95% of film submissions within two days.

So far this year, with 16,500 scripts submitted up to the end of June, we are pretty much on a par with volumes for 2013. Volumes of films are up though with around an extra 1,200 submitted.

So how are we doing for the first half of 2014? Well for both quarters we are right on target for scripts, achieving 85% of scripts responded to in four days. In the first quarter, 96% of films were turned around in two days and 95% in quarter two.

The CopyCentral migration means we’ll be working, with you, on two systems for a period of time. However as we roll out the new system, our aim is to continue to achieve our targets for the rest of the year.

Niamh McGuinnessHead of Copy Clearance

How are we doing? Our mid-year service levels 16,500

85%95%

SCRIPTS SUBMITTED,

OF SCRIPTS RESPONDED TO IN FOUR DAYS,

OF FILMS TURNED AROUND IN TWO DAYS.

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Ovo Energy were looking to develop their first television campaign with their creative agency Fabula and needed help from the Copy Development service to avoid breaching the denigration rule.

The ConceptIdeas for the campaign were presented but they were problematic because they denigrated the competition. Ovo wanted to compare themselves to their bigger and more established rivals but the early scripts discredited those rivals by suggesting they provide a poor ser-vice in comparison to Ovo. We explained that it would be important for references to rival companies to be unspecific and vague, and that the good things that Ovo do should be stressed as opposed to what they consider to be their rival’s deficiencies.

Seb LynchCopy Development Manager

Clearcast is increasingly clearing ads for Local TV, but not for all of them, so you may find this useful.

Local TV has the same requirements in terms of clearance as national TV, but the licensees are free to decide whether they wish to do their own clearances or come through Clearcast.

At the time of writing, Clearcast is clearing for Mustard TV in Nor-wich, London Live and STV Glasgow; with STV Edinburgh joining later.

For an up to date list of all channels we clear for, please go to kb.clearcast.co.uk and search ‘channel’.

Kristoffer HammerHead of Business Development

Local TV clearance

Ovo Energy A Copy Development Case Study

http://kb.clearcast.co.uk

CLEAR CLEAR


pliant scripts and the number of watch-outs given by Clearcast for the shoot, the agency felt it made sense to have me on set as a safeguard.

The Testimonial

‘This was our first use of the Copy Development service at Clearcast and it was invaluable. By having a qualified Clearcast rep to explain the regulations and highlight what breached them meant that much of the debate was fast-tracked and we could focus on creative solutions. Often the regulations can be open to personal interpretation which can slow down the copy approval process, Seb was really good at clarifying, without obstructing in anyway. He felt like a member of the team both at meetings and on set (he used to be a 2nd AD so really fitted in). The whole service definitely helped us get to strong solu-tions within a challenging time frame.’

Alex HedgesProducer at Fabula

Reviewing new creative Over the weeks that followed the meeting, Fabula produced a num-ber of creative routes which they sent to me for feedback and advice. The advice centred on helping Fabula to amend any routes that were likely to be a problem under the denigration rule.

Final tweaks Before the final meeting with Fabula, I discussed the latest creative route at the Policy and Copy Meeting (PCM) to get a consensus view from the copy group managers. The creative involved a customer and a rep from his unidentified energy company discussing the problems in their relationship with a councillor. The customer says he’s not happy and wants to switch to a new energy provider with great cus-tomer service – Ovo. PCM agreed that this route would be acceptable because the story had changed from being critical of competitors to being positive about Ovo.

Approved scriptsThe final approved scripts explained a key benefit of being an Ovo customer and avoided any specific criticism of competitors. A sense of general dissatisfaction from the customer was clear and the char-acter representing the energy company is unthoughtful and ignorant, but making the criticism vague and the energy company character generic and unidentifiable was key to the scripts’ acceptability.

The shootFabula arranged for me to be present on the shoot as they were con-cerned that even though the scripts were okay on paper, there was the potential for the performances and any adlibbing to jeopardise the approval of the ads. Given the work involved in developing com-

CLEAR CLEAR


– all services designed by us to make sure ads get to air as smoothly as possible. I was able to give first hand advice on projects and ideas under consideration and talk a bit more about what would be needed for their ads to be cleared as well as run through the time scales involved in the ad clearance. So in true teleshopping style, here are some testimonials about my visit to the conference:

If you would like to find out more about the presentation or any other aspect of teleshopping clearance, do get in touch with me: [email protected]

For those who may not know – The Electronic Retailing Association (ERA) represents the business needs of retailers who sell directly to the consumer and through its programme of self-regulation encour-ages fair, ethical, and responsible marketing practices that promote consumer confidence in electronic retailing.

In June I was a speaker at the annual European ERA conference in Vienna, there to talk about teleshopping ad clearance in the UK. Many international teleshopping companies don’t appreciate that commercials have to be cleared by Clearcast before going on air, so this was a great opportunity to introduce Clearcast and our service on the international level as well as clarify the clearance process.

My presentation covered a wide range of topics from a brief update on current developments like the expansion of the teleshopping team and launch of our new online submissions system, CopyCentral, to the most popular product genres and issues that come up in comply-ing with the BCAP Code. I also presented some case studies as exam-ples of how to get ads to air.

I also talked about the international advice service, our international video library and training programme (IACT) as well as TV Admin

Justyna ShalaTeleshopping Clearance Manager

What has Clearcast’s Teleshopping team been up to?

‘It was extremely useful to be able to introduce Justyna to one of our Spanish clients. Justyna was able to explain why certain areas are of particular concern to UK regulators, the background to particu-lar decisions and the fact that UK viewers believe the claims in TV advertising because they know there is a rigorous approvals process.’The Maverick Consultancy

‘Great to see Clearcast represented at this year’s ERA conference in Vienna. It’s an important opportunity for us and other European DRTV companies to learn about the advertising clearance process in the UK from the source. Justyna’s presentation was a real eye-opener for many of them. Plus, it’s really useful for UK advertisers to be able to consult on regulatory issues right as new products and advertising concepts are being presented to them’.Zestify Media

‘I saw Justyna at the Clearcast presentation in Vienna and it really helped me to understand the processes involved and was also good to be updated on the new CopyCentral clearance system. The pres-entation was very clear and concise and I would be happy to be updated every year.’ MB Media Ltd.


Movers and Shakers 30A novelist in our midst – Jonathan Laury 325 minutes with a consultant – Dr Harriet Scorer 35Inny & Outty 38

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the Operations team, have now joined the Copy team to replace Rudi and Anna. Stuart Enver has also joined Clearcast, taking on where Andy left off and Adam Smith has joined our Operations team to replace Louise.

Carly Cormie left the position of Executive Assistant to the MD and former receptionist Emily Hornby has now taken over this role. Our new receptionist is now yours truly, Vicki Ford.

We wish everyone the best of luck in their new roles and for those of you who have left us, make sure you keep in touch!

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Movers & ShakersVicki FordReceptionist and Office Assistant

There have been many changes over at Clearcast Towers. A few good-byes, a handful of hellos and a number of people have swapped seats and are moving on up.

To start off we are welcoming back Nicola Wynter and Olivia Quarshie who have returned to us after their maternity leave. We hope the sights and sounds of Clearcast are slightly more appealing than the nappies and broken nights!

The New Business Team has grown! Andy Kenyon (previously a Senior Copy Executive) is now working alongside Mani Sohanpal to make sure anyone new to or unfamiliar with Clearcast has plenty of support.

The Teleshopping team has also expanded and Copy Exec Barry Noone has joined their ranks. Jennifer Maguire who was the Admin Assistant for the Clearcast Plus team is settling into her new role to replace Barry. Jennifer’s previous role has now been taken on by Rosanna Croom.

The Copy team bid a sad farewell to Anna Morris and Rudi Haig ear-lier this year. Louise Glover and Pete Bellas, who were working on

Left to right: Our new starters Vicki Ford, Stuart Enver and Rosi Croom

(Adam Smith was busy holidaying in Ibiza when we took this shot!)


A novelist in our midst

A CLEARCAST PROFILE ON JONATHAN LAURY

Ernest Hemingway once said, ‘There is nothing to writ-

ing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed’. It’s

a statement that certainly resonates with current Clearcast

Copy Executive, Jonathan Laury. Writing and performing

is in his blood and this creative spark has led him to take

his ideas and thinking to a new level beyond the confines

of his daily copy clearance role. At Clearcast we have people who have what the IPA call

‘diagonal thinking’. This is the ability to think in two com-

plementary ways: logically and creatively. These essential

skills enable Jonathan to keep his creative hat on through-

out the day and then unleash his additional talents on his

daily commute and his evenings and weekends. Jonathan is a short story author, novelist and blogger.

A former actor, he graduated from Mountview Academy

of Theatre Arts and worked in the industry for a few years

before turning to writing and Clearcast. Experiencing the

success of having some short stories published, he has

set his sights on the bigger prize of getting his first novel

published. Entitled A Calling-on Song; it is about a reclu-

sive university drop-out called Robin who is back in his

home town, desperate to rebuild his identity. Jonathan describes it as ‘a timely look at the importance of cele-brating what you love. Plus magic. And mor-ris dancing.’ With over three years of hard work and dedication rolled in to around 90,000 words, he is now knocking on the doors of potential

publishers hoping for his big literary break. Getting your first novel published is notoriously diffi-

cult but Jonathan’s love for writing continues unabated as he awaits feedback from the publishers. He has already begun working on the second draft of another novel, tenta-tively titled The Lord of the Dance. It recounts the journey of a punk band dragged into the middle of a battle between Orpheus and Dionysus in a small town venue. Like his other writing, it’s set in the real world with a fantastical twist of darkness in a similar vein to some of Neil Gaiman and China Mieville’s work.

They say that behind every great novelist is a neglected spouse; luckily that’s not the case here. Jonathan’s wife is


COMPILED BY BARRY NOONE

TELESHOPPING COPY GROUP EXEC

also a writer and shares his passion, so she fully under-stands the demands of juggling his creative aspirations along with his full time role at Clearcast. So much so, they can often be found brain-storming and bouncing ideas around the dinner table.

Not content with the novels, Jonathan has recently com-pleted his first play which he hopes to enter into a short play festival – watch this space! He’s also blogging about trying to get published for the first time both as catharsis and, as he says, an example for other aspiring writers of what not to do. You can keep up with his misadventures at mrpootler.wordpress.com

CAST

Whilst Clearcast’s staff are special-ists in the BCAP Code, we have to rely on a number of external experts for script claims outside our exper-tise. Clearcast employs experts in the following fields: general medicine, nutrition, dentistry, dermatology, veterinary science, financial, legal, epilepsy (for ‘flashing’ issues), IT, optical, motoring, sports equipment, vacuum cleaners, cleaning products, electrical products, and statistics.

These experts work for us on a part-time basis, so we need to give them enough time to look at your script and substantiation – we nor-mally ask that you allow them at least a week for feedback. We’d also ask that you put your substantiation as succinctly as possible in a Claim Support Document, which can be found in the knowledge base area of our website. Go to kb.clearcast.co.uk and search ‘forms’.

Harriet joined Clearcast as a medical consultant earlier this year. A pharmaceutical physician, Harriet qualified in medicine at

Compiled by Jonathan LauryCopy Group Executive

5 minutes with… a consultant

Dr Harriet Scorer MB BS, FFPM

http://mrpootler.wordpress.com



Cambridge University and Charing Cross Hospital. Whilst working in the NHS, she specialised in obstetrics and gynaecology. She subse-quently joined the pharmaceutical industry working firstly for Abbott Laboratories and then as medical director at Wyeth Consumer Healthcare UK (now Pfizer) for 10 years. For the last 11 years she has provided medical and regulatory advice to consumer healthcare com-panies through Scorer Health Ltd.

What are your first impressions of working with Clearcast?I’ve been impressed by the professionalism and knowledge of the Clearcast copy clearance team. They are also very approachable which makes working with Clearcast enjoyable.

What are you favourite bits of working with Clearcast?I work on medicines and related areas but even within this there is huge variety. I’ve had the opportunity to review some very interesting data and learned a lot along the way. I’ve also worked with Seb Lynch on Copy Development where companies have the chance to come into Clearcast and get advice. This is a great way to get things sorted out early in the development process which seems to be good news for everyone.

What is the worst part of being a Clearcast consultant?It’s early days but so far I can’t say I’ve come across any bad aspects. Sometimes the documentation which accompanies an ad can be com-plex and difficult to follow. So that could be simplified which would make review easier (and quicker).

What can advertisers do to speed up the approval of their claims?It really helps if the support material is laid out clearly and it is easily apparent which reference supports which claim. If there are multiple references or long documents please mark up the relevant sections or quotes.

How does working with Clearcast compare with your usual work?My regular work involves consulting to consumer healthcare compa-nies on medical and regulatory affairs. So some aspects are very simi-lar. For example, I advise on promotional material and check that it is compliant with the various Codes and legislation which the indus-try follows - reviewing ads for Clearcast is along the same lines.

One of the biggest differences is the relationships that I have with the people I work with: I have known many of my clients for a number of years whereas I don’t know many of the people behind the ads which come to Clearcast – hopefully that will change in time.

For more information on our consultants and how you can work with them, go to kb.clearcast.co.uk and search ‘consultant’.

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CAST

Compiled by Jennifer Maguire Copy Group Executive

Vicki is the Receptionist and Office Assistant at Clearcast and has been here for 3 months.

Weirdest thing you’ve eaten on holiday?When I was in Bolivia one night the only options were either alpaca or guinea pig. I had a pet guinea pig so I went with alpaca and it tasted just like steak.

If you had a time machine when would you travel to and why?The sixties, I would have loved to have been there when all the music was new. I also think life would be better with Motown as your soundtrack!

What is the best thing about your job?Being the first point of call at a company is essential and I’d like to think I am being as helpful. I’m learning new things every day and I also get to meet and greet lots of people which I love to do.

Who would play you in the film of your life?I opened it up to the people who know me best. They said Isla Fisher, you may not be able to see me, but you can always hear me!

Your favourite TV ad of the last few months?The advert Thinkbox did called Harvey and Rabbit. With Adam Buxton doing the soundtrack, you can’t go wrong!

What would you change about advertising in the UK?Late night chocolate/ice cream adverts. I cave so easily under pressure.

If you had a super power what would it be?The ability to pick up any hobby and be a master at it, namely playing an instrument or sports as I am not very coordinated.

Jennifer has been the Promotion and Communications Officer at the European Advertising Standards Alliance in Brussels since 2012.

Weirdest thing you’ve eaten on holiday?Horse meat – although, is that even still weird after the whole ‘Horsegate’ thing? A very close second was the Spanish omelette ice-cream.

If you had a time machine when would you travel and why? Ancient Rome – everyone loves a good toga party!

What is the best thing about your job? Its great working with such a mix of people from different nationalities, 11 people from 7 different countries! EASA has self-regulatory members in 38 countries. Who would play you in the film of your life? I’d need the time machine back again, but it would be Gene Wilder in his Blazing Saddles days

Your favourite TV ad of the last few months? The Coors Light Beer ads featuring Belgian national hero Jean Claude Van Damme – did you know there’s even a statue of him in Brussels?

What would you change about advertising in the UK? I would make sure that everyone signed up for IACT!

If you had a super power what would it be? Teleportation - I wish I could move between Belgium and the UK with a click of my heels, might take a sneaky peek at a few tropical islands too.

Outty:Jennifer Pearson

Inny:Vicki Ford

Inny & Outty: we throw the same questions to a Clearcaster… …and an external buddy.


Dear Jackie 42 Did you know…? 44

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Clearcast Newsletter · Autumn 2014 43

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Dear Jackie…

Your ad problems solved by our resident agony auntCompiled by Elliot Lord, Copy Group Manager

Dear Jackie,We’ve taken on a new cosmetic surgery client over here at Elliot Anthony

William Rossitter & Lord. We’re totally new to working in this sector and we all thought you might be able to give us a steer on what to nip and tuck from our creative ideas before we start presenting them to the client.

Thanks, Patty O’Furniture

Well hey there Patty!!Thanks so much for writing into me; you sure have come to the right

person! Doubtless you’ve seen many an image of my visage spread across the

web, so you know I’m the gal that knows all when it comes to a bit of nip and tuck.

There are the usual lookouts, like making sure your client is all above board, ie registered, qualified, certified, insured up to their eye balls and, most importantly, don’t harbour an unhealthy fascination with the likes of Sweeny Todd or Jack the Ripper.

That aside, you really want to take care to ensure that your ads are pre-pared with a sense of responsibility to consumers and to society. So you’ll want to be careful about what voice over and imagery you show if you’re looking to avoid restrictions on scheduling; no one really wants to see a demo of a chemical peel around the Martini hour(s)(noon–nine). Post Watershed you’re likely to get away with showing a little more, because that’s when lit-tle beasts should be in bed and we’re onto the hard stuff!

Ads are likely to be scrutinized heavily if it appears they trivialise cos-metic surgery by making it sound like a relatively easy or hassle free option eg “had my boobs done in no time and I’ve no second thoughts about going back for more”, especially if they don’t make it clear that cosmetic interven-tions carry risks.

Notably, in a recent adjudication, the ASA were concerned that the ad depicted characters that were unhappy with their appearance. This was shown with attempts to cover up parts of their bodies in public places and presented them as lacking in confidence because they didn’t like how they looked. Now this is pretty standard stuff in a cosmetic surgery ad you might think, and you’re probably right, but what scuppered this idea was the sud-den physical changes that were accompanied by an immediate and obvious change in emotional wellbeing. The ASA thought this was likely to reinforce harmful feelings, particularly in young teenagers eg “I’m fat”, “my nose is too big”, “I want my little toes removed so I can wear aunty Jackie’s sky scraper heels” etc., and would encourage those who don’t have a ‘perfect’ physical appearance to be self-conscious about their looks and try to change them. The adjudication made clear that to minimise the risk to children and, particularly young teenagers, the ad should have been given a post 9pm restriction to help prevent them from seeing it.

As always darlings, if you’ve any specific questions on a topic then you should chat to your Clearcast lovey, but for now, I must dash… shopping trip down Harley Street with the niece.

Love and lipo,

Jackie xxx

Got a question for Jackie?Well then, Ms Stone would love to hear any questions you have about Clearcast. Please keep it general and talk to your exec if it relates to a particular clearance. [email protected]

Clearcast Newsletter · Autumn 2014 45

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Did you know…

• Two Clearcast ladies got married on the same day this summer. Copy Group Executive Rosie Miller (now Sayeau) and Commu-nications Executive Ellie Bonnet (now Powell), both married on July 19th. Rosie’s wedding took place in Layer Marney Tower in Colchester and Ellie’s in her parents’ village in Oxfordshire. Both brides had a great day.

• In February Clearcast were granted the two star Outstanding accredita-tion in the Best Companies to Work For initiative. The highly sought after accolade was awarded to us in our first year of participation in the employee engagement survey.

• On October 1 the Remote Gam-bling Act comes into force and all gambling operators who advertise in Great Britain must register and be licensed by the Gambling Com-mission. From that date, Clearcast will request to see evidence from all gambling advertisers that they are on the Gambling Commission’s public register. This replaces the ‘White List’ which contains a list of permitted gambling jurisdictions.

• The ASA have just published a use-ful new guide called ‘Making ads responsible: A guide to the ASA and CAP’. The downloadable leaflet pro-vides an overview of their structure and how they regulate UK ads. Find it here: www.asa.org.uk

Left to right: Mr & Mrs Sayeau, and Mr & Mrs Powell

Clearcast Ltd.4 Roger StreetLondon WC1N 2JXT +44 (0) 20 7339 4700E [email protected] www.clearcast.co.uk

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Clearcast Autumn Newsletter 2014

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