Safety Norms: Traditional and Broadcast Advertising

1Purpose, Scope, and Safety Principles

These norms apply to anyone who plans, produces, approves, or places traditional and broadcast advertising, including television, radio, print, outdoor, and direct mail work. Safety in this context has four parts: physical safety for crew, talent, and bystanders; protection of audiences from deception and harm; lawful use of people, property, and personal data; and protection of the brand from avoidable reputational damage.

Mandatory rules use the word must and cannot be waived without written approval from the campaign owner and the compliance reviewer. Recommended practices use the word should and may be adapted when a documented reason exists. Three principles govern everything below: prevent harm before it happens, never shift risk onto the least powerful person on a set, and stop work when a hazard or legal question is unresolved.

• Mandatory: no one performs a task without the training, authorization, and equipment that task requires.
• Mandatory: no claim, likeness, song, or personal data is used until its right to use is documented.
• Recommended: review each campaign against a written risk assessment before the first call time.

2Roles, Competence, and Accountability

The campaign owner is accountable for the final approved creative, budget, and schedule. The production supervisor is accountable for the shoot and names a set safety lead for each location. The compliance reviewer, usually from legal or regulatory affairs, approves claims, disclosures, talent agreements, and music and footage licenses. Media buyers and traffic managers are accountable for confirming that approved versions, not drafts, reach each station, publisher, or outdoor operator.

Competence means documented ability, not job title. Electrical distribution, rigging, pyrotechnics, aerial drones, vehicles on set, and animal handling require people who hold the licenses or certifications that your jurisdiction and the venue demand. This guidance does not identify those qualifications; confirm them with the authority or insurer that governs your location.

• Set safety lead: completes documented hazard assessment training and can stop work on any set.
• Licensed electricians: the only people who connect, modify, or test building or generator power.
• Stunt, vehicle, and animal coordinators: approved in writing before any scene involving them.
• Talent and casting coordinator: verifies age, work authorization, and consent status before booking.
• Anyone: may refuse an unsafe task without retaliation.

3Course-Specific Hazards and Risk Assessment

Realistic activities include location shoots, studio builds, lighting and camera rigs, practical effects, vehicle and water scenes, outdoor billboard installation, print press runs, radio booth recording, and remote broadcast setups. People involved include talent, minors and their guardians, extras, stunt performers, crew, installers, drivers, and members of the public near filming. Tools and environments include ladders, lifts, generators, high-wattage lamps, cable runs, solvent inks, press equipment, and public streets or parks. Outdoor work also brings weather, traffic, and crowd exposure, which need separate controls.

Each hazard receives a risk rating from likelihood and severity, scored as low, medium, high, or critical. Any critical rating stops work until the controls are verified in writing. Content hazards carry equal weight. Misleading health or financial claims, discriminatory portrayals, sexualized depictions of minors, unlicensed music, unauthorized likenesses, and personal data collected through audience research can harm people and expose the organization to legal, platform, and reputational consequences.

• Critical: installing billboards at height without fall protection, or working near energized lines.
• High: generator or fuel-powered equipment indoors, where exhaust can build up and cause carbon monoxide exposure.
• High: pyrotechnic, stunt, or vehicle action without a licensed operator and an approved plan.
• Medium: hot lamps, cable trips, and long hours that produce fatigue or burns.
• Medium: high sound levels in studios or live radio events without hearing protection.
• High: a claim published without a substantiation file, or a spot aired with unlicensed music.
• Critical: a minor filmed in a situation outside their approved role or without guardian consent.

4Preventive Controls and Safe Work Practices

Before production starts, the set safety lead completes a written hazard assessment for each location, and the production supervisor issues a call sheet listing hazards, exclusion zones, emergency contacts, and the nearest first aid location and hospital. Mandatory controls include a documented permit for work at height, a licensed electrician sign-off on power distribution, and a cleared exclusion zone around pyrotechnics, vehicles, and aerial devices. Working hours, meal breaks, and rest periods must follow local labor rules and any applicable agreements; the production plan sets them before the shoot.

Content controls begin at script review. The compliance reviewer requires a claims substantiation file for every factual statement, including the source and supporting evidence. Claims that depend on testing must be repeated when the product, formula, or method changes. Testimonials and endorsements need documented permission and disclosure where required. Advertising to or featuring children, health products, financial products, alcohol, or other regulated categories receives an extra review by a qualified specialist. Talent is never asked to demonstrate a product in a way that could cause injury; a stunt or prop test is run by the vendor before filming.

• Mandatory: no shot involving height, water, fire, vehicles, or animals starts without the approved plan on set.
• Mandatory: all music, footage, fonts, and images carry license records that cover each media type and territory.
• Mandatory: minors are booked only with the work permissions and guardian consent required where filming occurs.
• Recommended: hold a short safety briefing before each new scene, naming the hazard and the person in charge.
• Recommended: use a second person to verify product demonstrations and prop safety before any take.

5Equipment, Environment, Information, and Protective Safeguards

Equipment must be inspected before each use and tagged when defective. Electrical equipment receives testing according to the venue, the manufacturer instructions, and the local code, which a qualified electrician should verify. Lighting heat, cable routing, and generator placement follow the manufacturer manual; no one overrides a safety cutout. Print operations using solvent inks require local exhaust ventilation, safety data sheets on site, and gloves and eye protection suited to the chemical listed in the data sheet.

Information safeguards matter as much as physical ones. Talent releases, minors' consent forms, and location agreements are stored in restricted folders with access logs. Audience research collects only the data needed, with consent and a retention limit set by the privacy notice and local privacy law. Unreleased creative, media rates, and embargoed campaign details are shared only through approved systems. Ad trafficking uses verified accounts and two-person approval for changes to live placements, reducing the risk of malicious ad code or unauthorized substitution.

• PPE by task: hard hats near overhead work, high-visibility vests on public roads, gloves for hot or sharp props, eye and hearing protection in press and loud areas, and fall arrest equipment for elevated work.
• Hygiene: individual makeup applicators and single-use wipes for shared products, handwashing stations, drinking water, and shade or cooling for outdoor shoots.
• Bystanders: post filming notices and clear public areas before shooting; do not record identifiable people without a release or a legal basis for the use.
• Privacy: do not publish raw footage of non-consenting people or minors, and blur or remove identifying details when a release is missing.

6Incident Reporting, Emergency Response, and Escalation

Anyone who sees an injury, near miss, or unsafe condition reports it to the set safety lead immediately. The set safety lead may stop work at once, and no one may be penalized for doing so. For injuries, a trained first aider treats within their competence and calls emergency services when the situation requires it. Evacuation routes, muster points, fire extinguishers, and emergency contacts are confirmed before each location day. Electrical or fire emergencies are handled through emergency services and the venue's approved procedure, not by untrained staff.

Content incidents follow a separate but parallel path. If an unapproved spot is aired or a published claim is challenged, the media buyer contacts the broadcaster, publisher, or platform to request removal, and the compliance reviewer assesses regulatory and legal obligations. Preserve the original files, schedules, and communications. Do not delete records to reduce exposure, and follow any legal hold instructions. Public statements about a problem are drafted with legal and communications review and are factual, not defensive.

• Report every incident and near miss within the shift in which it occurs, using the company's incident form.
• Escalate injuries to the production supervisor and the safety officer the same day.
• Escalate privacy breaches, data loss, and unauthorized likeness use to privacy and legal teams immediately.
• Escalate complaints about harm to minors, discrimination, or false claims to the compliance reviewer before responding publicly.

7Records, Training, Inspection, and Review

Keep records that show decisions and controls: hazard assessments, call sheets, permits, licensed electrician sign-offs, inspection logs, signed releases, music and footage licenses, claims substantiation files, incident reports, and complaint responses. Retention periods follow the records policy and applicable law, which varies by jurisdiction and should be confirmed with legal counsel. Personal information in these records is limited to what is needed and protected under the privacy notice. Records should be reviewed by someone other than the person who created them.

Training is required before people work on a set or approve creative. Every crew member completes a site induction. Creative, media, and approval teams complete training on claims, disclosures, consent, and privacy, with periodic refreshers. Monitoring continues after airing. Teams review complaint trends, post-campaign audit findings, and near-miss data at set intervals and revise these norms when laws, platform rules, or incidents show a gap.

• Keep training records showing who was trained, on what topic, and when they were verified as competent.
• Run a post campaign review covering claims, complaints, takedowns, and any injuries.
• Audit a sample of approved campaigns against their substantiation and license files.

8Conclusion and Practical Checklist

Safe and compliant advertising depends on clear ownership, documented decisions, and a willingness to pause. These norms are a starting point. Adapt them through locally approved procedures, and confirm every legal, licensing, electrical, rigging, and privacy requirement with competent authorities or qualified professionals. This material is educational and does not replace formal training or emergency services. In an emergency, call local emergency services first.

Implementation checklist

• Confirm a written hazard assessment and call sheet exist for every location before crew arrives.
• Verify licensed electrician sign-off and inspection tags for all power and lighting equipment.
• Check that every factual claim has a complete substantiation file reviewed by compliance.
• Obtain signed talent releases and guardian consent, and confirm work permissions for any minor.
• Confirm music, footage, and image licenses cover every media type and territory in the plan.
• Review the privacy notice and restrict access to personal data, releases, and unreleased creative.
• Brief the set on exclusion zones, emergency contacts, and stop-work authority before filming.
• Log every incident and near miss, and escalate content problems before any public response.