Whether you’re trying to run an out-of-home (OOH) advertising campaign for substances like alcohol, tobacco, or cannabis, or maybe for a political or adult advertisement, getting that campaign posted can be difficult—but it doesn’t have to be.
Consider the area in which you’re advertising.
In many cases, the location of a specific piece of inventory or billboard determines whether or not an ad will be approved or not. For example, when advertising cannabis or cannabis-related products, ensure that it’s legal in the state you’re advertising in.
Additionally, ad spaces that are in close proximity to schools often don’t allow ads featuring adult topics, or selling alcohol or other substances. To avoid your ad being declined, make sure any specific ad spaces you’re pinpointing are located in areas without any schools, playgrounds, or daycares nearby.
Design an appropriate ad.
Perhaps the biggest difficulty when advertising restricted topics is getting your ad design approved. While this can vary depending on the topic and location, here are some general rules to follow:
- Don’t include any depictions of a person partaking in any substance. Ex: a photo of someone smoking.
- For cannabis ads, don’t include any actual photos of the plant itself, use slang, or make any health claims.
- When applicable, include your license number or any other required legal information.
- For political and advocacy ads, include a “Paid for By [Organization Name]” disclaimer on the creative.
- For adult ads, be sure that the graphics and language are tasteful. Ex: no nudity or lewd language.
Allow ample time to get your ad posted.
Ad campaigns for restricted topics sometimes need to go through additional approval steps, or require revisions to the ad design. By allowing more time on the front end, you won’t be scrambling as much to get everything settled and ready to go before your projected start date.
TL;DR:
Advertising restricted topics can be hard in the OOH space, but it doesn’t have to be—just make sure you follow the relevant guidelines and stay flexible, and you should be able to run your campaign with ease.
