New format Consumer Advice ExamplesResearch carried out by the BBFC has consistently shown that the public value the content information offered by BBFC Consumer Advice panels on video and DVD packaging. The BBFC and the video/DVD industry have been working together to try and ensure that the maximum possible number of videos and DVDs carry BBFC Consumer Advice. For many years we have issued a grid for each title offering a few words of advice about content issues under the headings 'language', 'sex/nudity', 'violence' and 'other'. Thanks to the ongoing commitment of the video/DVD industry, the results have been impressive, with the overwhelming majority of top rental titles now carrying Consumer Advice. The situation is also encouraging in the retail sector, and is improving all the time.
Feedback from the industry has suggested that one barrier to getting Consumer Advice onto all titles is the amount of space the grid format takes up. For many distributors this is a particular concern on 'premium' titles where the artwork often dominates the entire cover. In response to this concern, the BBFC have devised a new alternative format for video/DVD consumer advice, based on the style currently used for cinema films. The new format utilises the space inside the mandatory rectangular box containing the category symbol and explanation which must appear on the back cover as a condition of the Video Recordings Act labelling regulations. In doing so, it minimises the amount of packaging space which has to be given over to Consumer Advice. The attached pdf file contains examples which illustrate both the format and the space saving that results.
Because the established grid system is widely recognised and appreciated we plan to run the new format alongside the old one. The BBFC will create both grid format and new format Consumer Advice for each feature passed U, PG, 12, 15 and 18. The two formats will appear side by side on the Interim Clearance Form and distributors will be able to choose the one which suits the particular title best.
When using the new style Consumer Advice it is important that the packaging matches exactly the examples given in the attached pdf file in terms of the layout, and that the explanatory wording is as large and clear as in the established format. Any deviation from the examples (which have been approved by the Trading Standards body, LACORS, and by the Department for Culture , Media and Sport) may constitute a failure to comply fully with the statutory labelling regulations. Downloadable blank examples of the new style can be accessed from the following link:
We hope that this new initiative will help to make the provision of Consumer Advice even more widespread.
If you have any queries please send them via email to consumeradvice@bbfc.co.uk or call the BBFC Customer Helpline on 020 7440 0299
New format Consumer Advice Examples
File size 100 Kb
This file can be read using Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do
not have Adobe Acrobat Reader, please visit http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
for a free download.