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Advertising Policies
Advertising Policies

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Requirements for third-party ad serving

Policy Home > TV Ads

View all policies: TV Ads

Technical Requirements
 
Audio Requirements
  • Samples: 48Khz, 16bits
  • Dynamic Range: no greater than 7dB
  • Codec: MPEG1-Layer 2, AAC, PCM
  • Bitrate: At least 256kbps
  • Number of channels: 2 (balanced stereo)
  • There shouldn't be any visible lip-sync issues.

File Requirements
  • Size: 100MB maximum
  • Format: AVI, MOV, TS (MPEG 2 Transport Stream)

Note: Files larger than 100MB in size can be uploaded using Gears, a free browser plug-in. Click here to download and install the Gears plug-in.

Video Requirements
  • Resolution:
    - 720 x 480 @ 29.97fps (NTSC)
    - frame aspect ratio: 4:3
    - pixel aspect ratio: 0.9

  • Upper/Top/Odd field first

  • Codec: AVC H.264 (Main Profile 3.0), MPEG-2 (Main Profile @ Main Level), Uncompressed/RAW (except V210/10-bit)

  • Bitrate: At least 6Mbps (CBR). 12Mbps is recommended -- it will make your ad eligible to appear on all Google TV Ads inventory. 12Mbps is required for your ad to air on national inventory for the networks Sleuth, Chiller, CNBC, MSNBC, Sci-Fi, and Oxygen.

  • Luma should occupy full spectrum between NTSC standard 7.5 IRE black and white level at 100 IRE.

  • # of frames for NTSC format
    15 sec ad: 450 frames
    30 sec ad: 900 frames
    45 sec ad: 1350 frames
    60 sec ad: 1800 frames
    75 sec ad: 2250 frames
    90 sec ad: 2700 frames
    120 sec ad: 3600 frames


Editorial & Format
 
Accuracy & relevance

Accurately represent what is being advertised.

Your ad must clearly and accurately describe your business, product, or service.


Ad Length and Time Use

Stay within the maximum ad duration and use the ad time properly.

  • Ad length must be 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, or 120 seconds long, with no slate.
  • Video and audio quality must be clear and understandable.
  • Ad cannot contain lengths of blank screen. The ad content must take up the full length of the ad.
  • Each TV ad must advertise only one business; the ad may not be split to advertise multiple companies.

Advertised Prices & Offers

Advertise only accurate prices, discounts, and free offers.

  • You must honor any prices and/or offers made in your ad.
  • When using terms such as "guarantee" or "warranty", your ad must disclose any major limitations of a limited warranty. Your ad should also state clearly where to find full details of the warranty and make the information easily accessible.

Inaccurate Affiliation

Do not imply inaccurate affiliation.

Your ads may not imply an affiliation with Google.


Inappropriate Language

Don't use inappropriate language.

Your ad (including your display URL) cannot contain offensive or inappropriate language. This also applies to misspellings or other variations of inappropriate language.


Non-Commercial Ads

We recommend that your ads include your company name and your website or contact information. Some publishers require this information and won't accept your ad without it.


Targeted to Children

If your ad is targeted for children, it is your obligation to comply with the following:

  • Any applicable laws, regulations and guidelines including federal, state and local laws
  • Federal Trade Commission regulations
  • CARU's (Children's Advertising Review Unit) Self-Regulatory Guidelines for Children's Advertising

Trademarks

Trademark Complaint Procedures for AdWords and AdSense:

Adhere to our trademark policies.

Google recognizes the importance of trademarks. Our AdWords Terms and Conditions with advertisers prohibit intellectual property infringement by advertisers. Advertisers are responsible for the keywords they choose to generate advertisements and the text that they choose to use in those advertisements.

Google takes allegations of trademark infringement very seriously and, as a courtesy, we investigate matters raised by trademark owners. Trademarks are territorial and apply only to certain goods or services. Therefore, different parties can own the same mark in different countries or different industries. Accordingly, in processing complaints, Google will ask the trademark owner for information regarding where the mark is valid and for what goods or services. Please note the following about our complaint process:

  • The trademark owner doesn't need to be a Google AdWords advertiser in order to send a complaint.
  • Any such investigation will only affect ads served on or by Google.
  • Google's trademark policy does not apply to search results. Our investigations only apply to sponsored links. For trademark concerns about websites that appear in Google search results, the trademark owner should contact the site owner directly.
  • In the case of an AdSense for Domains trademark complaint, an investigation will affect only the participation of the domain name in question in our AdSense for Domains program.
  • Because Google is not a third-party arbiter, we encourage trademark owners to resolve their disputes directly with the advertisers, particularly because the advertisers may have similar ads running via other advertising programs.

AdWords Trademark Policies

Below, you can find information on our trademark complaint procedure across different regions as well as on our advertiser authorization procedure.

Trademark Complaint Procedure:

Regions in which we monitor ad text only

Regions in which we monitor both ad text and keywords

Trademark Authorization Procedure:

Authorization to Use Trademarks in Your Ad Campaign

Counterfeit Goods Complaint

Google AdWords prohibits the sale or promotion of counterfeit goods. Counterfeit goods contain a trademark or logo that is identical with or substantially indistinguishable from the trademark of another. Counterfeiters attempt to deceive consumers into believing the counterfeit is a genuine product of the brand owner, or sell their goods as faux, replicas or imitations of the original product. Counterfeit goods differ from standard trademark infringement in that counterfeiters attempt to pass off their goods as the originals, instead of merely using a similar mark in a confusing manner. Counterfeit goods differ from pirated products or copyright infringement because it is the trademark that is copied, rather than software, books, artwork, etc.

We will investigate all reasonable complaints; our actions may include disapproving or disabling ads and/or terminating advertisers. Any such investigation and action will only affect ads served on or by Google.

Please note that, upon request and approval, a complainant's contact details may be forwarded to the affected advertiser(s).

If you have concerns about the sale of counterfeit goods in AdWords ads, please file a complaint. Note: This form is only available in English.

Learn more about the Google AdWords Copyright policy.

AdSense Trademark Policy for Parked Domain Names

Google provides an ad serving program via our AdSense for Domains service, wherein domain registrars can display ads on their inactive domains. If you have concerns about the use of your trademark as a parked domain name, file an AdSense for Domains trademark complaint.

Once Google receives all of the required information from the trademark owner, the claim will be investigated, and appropriate action will be taken.



Content
 
Adult & Sexual Content

Ads may not contain adult or sexual content. This includes but is not limited to:

  • Pornographic content
  • Real, dramatized, or implied sexual acts
  • Nudity, whether real or animated
  • Crude or indecent language
  • Offensive or inappropriate content

Celebrity Voices & Impersonations

Don't impersonate a celebrity without permission.

You must have appropriate permission before using celebrity names, voices, or impersonations in your ad.


Copyright

Don't promote copyrighted content without permission.

Copyrights are important business assets in which the copyright holder maintains exclusive rights. You must not use AdWords to promote the copying or distribution of copyrighted content for which you don't have consent from the copyright holder and which is not otherwise permitted by law.

To learn more about how we handle copyright issues within the AdWords program, view the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and our copyright policy and procedures.


Endangered Species

Don't promote products obtained from endangered or threatened species.

Advertising is not permitted for products obtained from endangered or threatened species. This includes, but is not limited to, the sale of products derived from elephants, sharks, tigers, whales, rhinoceroses, or dolphins.


Escort Services

Don't promote escort services.

Advertising is not permitted for sites promoting escort services or related content.


Legal Regulations

Comply with all laws and required disclosures.

Your jurisdiction may have specific laws and regulations requiring (among other things) disclosures for advertisements of certain products or services, including but not limited to:

  • Sweepstakes and contests
  • Prescription drugs
  • 1-900 numbers and text messaging services
  • Offers of rebates, coupons, sales, and free services or merchandise
  • Political election or political fundraising ads
You are responsible for ensuring that your TV ad is in compliance with all applicable local laws and regulations. In addition, all ads aired on a U.S.-based television station are required to meet FCC guidelines.


Mobile Content Services

Mobile content services ads are restricted.

We allow the advertisement of mobile content services only upon certain conditions noted below. Mobile content services include, but are not limited to, sites that promote downloading ringtones, wallpaper, or text messages for predictions, love life advice, news, personality quizzes, or other entertainment services.

Ads for mobile content services must clearly and accurately state the pricing.

If users sign up to your service by transmitting a code by text message, the price and billing interval must be clearly and prominently displayed beside the code.

If your site promotes mobile content services and requires users to submit personal information, your site must prominently display the price and billing interval (such as per week or once per month) on the page where users first enter personal information (such as a name or phone number).

If your service is a subscription, your site must provide a prominent opt-in checkbox or other clear mechanism indicating that the user knowingly accepts the price and subscription service. This should be on the first page users enter personal data, and the user should not be able to proceed without opting in.

All of the items above should be located in a prominent place on your webpage and should be easy to find, read, and understand.


Political Ads

Don't promote political elections or fundraising.

We do not allow audio ads about political elections. Political fundraising is also not permitted.


Trade Sanctions and Restricted Party

Don't violate government trade sanctions.

Don't submit ads that, if run, would violate applicable government trade sanctions.


Unacceptable Business Practices

Don't promote low quality sites or business models.

Advertising is not permitted in cases where the business model or practice is deemed unacceptable in accordance with the AdWords Terms and Conditions.