How political and issue ads work
What counts as a political or issue ad, who must do what before one runs, where it can never run, and where the public record is kept.
Election and issue ads are held to stricter rules than other advertising. Every one needs a verified sponsor, a "paid for by" line in the video, a campaign that says what it is, and a publisher that has chosen to take it. This article explains the rules. The jobs themselves are in the articles linked at the end.
The rules here follow the Advertising Policy. If anything differs, the policy is what you agreed to.
What counts
| Kind | What it is |
|---|---|
| Election ad | An ad by or for a party, candidate, officeholder or referendum campaign, or a call to vote. |
| Issue ad | An ad meant to influence an election, a referendum, how people vote, or a law or regulation. |
| Not political | A product, service or brand. |
Every campaign must say which of the three it is. A creative that is declared "not political" but looks political is held at review until it is either declared properly or confirmed as not political.
The chain, in order
- The advertiser verifies its brand domain. See Brand verification.
- The advertiser adds the sponsor, meaning whoever pays for the ads, and LtvAdx verifies it country by country. See Political sponsors.
- The advertiser declares a campaign, its line items and its creatives as political, naming the verified sponsor. See Declare a political campaign.
- The publisher chooses to take political ads. Every publisher starts with them off. See Take political ads on your channels.
- The ad runs, and appears in the public library.
Rules that always apply
- Sponsors. A sponsor must be verified for each country it runs in. Foreign-funded sponsors are not accepted. A verification lasts 365 days and can be revoked sooner. When a sponsor is revoked or expires, its political ads stop.
- Disclosure. The video must show "Paid for by" and the sponsor's name exactly as verified, on screen for at least 4 seconds at 4% or more of the picture height. For US candidate ads it must also be spoken. LtvAdx checks this before a political creative is approved.
- India. Election ads for India also need the Media Certification and Monitoring Committee certificate number and date.
- Targeting. Contextual and location targeting only. No audience, household, demographic, retargeting or other segment targeting, and no voter files.
- Where it never runs. Not on kids channels. Not to viewers whose country is unknown. Not in the countries LtvAdx blocks for political ads, which include the EU and EEA countries and the UK. Not during election silence periods, which LtvAdx sets by country and region.
- Publishers. A publisher takes only the kinds, countries, channels and sponsors it allows.
The public library
Every political ad that has run is listed at the political ads library. It shows who paid, the election or issue, the countries, dates and devices, and spend and impressions as ranges. You do not need to sign in to read it. Records are kept for 7 years.
What is yours to do
The advertiser stays responsible for electoral and broadcast law in each country the ad runs in, including equal-time rules where they apply. A creative being approved does not change that.
If political ads are not open
If your Political ads or Political sponsors page says political ads are not open yet, none can run and every publisher stays closed to them. Campaigns about elections, candidates, parties, referendums or legislation must not run while that is the case.
Next
- Advertisers: Political sponsors, then Declare a political campaign.
- Publishers: Take political ads on your channels.
- Everything else that is allowed or not: Ad and content policy.