Advertising Policy

Since our members are foremost in our consideration, our advertising standards are maintained at a correspondingly high level of practice. It is our contention that keeping our advertising practices high for our members improves the outcome for our ad suppliers. Without exception, advertising must be appropriate for a general clientele and be in accordance with governing laws and regulations with respect to advertising, the essence of the ads and areas of advertising placement.

Since our members are foremost in our consideration, our advertising standards are maintained at a correspondingly high level of practice. It is our contention that keeping our advertising practices high for our members improves the outcome for our ad suppliers. Without exception, advertising must be appropriate for a general clientele and be in accordance with governing laws and regulations with respect to advertising, the essence of the ads and areas of advertising placement.

1. The formatting and functionality of Advertisements

  • Customer-initiation on click is required for all audio.
  • After customer initiates audio, a mute button is required.
  • As regards animation length, there is a maximum of 15 seconds, with a 3-loop maximum on initial animation. For mobile and seller-central banners, no animation is permitted. Refer to placement-specific guidelines below.
  • Rollovers in the initiation of audio, video or animation, are unacceptable.
  • Page content and advertisements are required to be visually different by way of a border of one pixel that is clearly visible, or a color background of high contrast that unmistakably delineates the advertisement from the content.
  • It is inadmissible for advertisements to approximate that which is contained within Idiot Free Zone llc.
  • Advertisements, suggesting false winners or function similar to HTML drop-downs or form-fields, are not allowed.

2. Advertisement Structure

  • The call to action of the advertisement must be correspondent with the messaging on associated landing pages.
  • Clarity, accuracy and consistency are essential, within the ad copy and the landing page, for pricing and saving messages
  • In conformance with our standards, in offering our clients the optimum of service, advertisements containing certain content or reference to certain offers, products or services may not be acceptable.
  • Included in these prohibitions, across all placements, but not restricted to the below content, offers, products or services.

3. Content Prohibited:

3.1. Gratis Offers, Sweepstakes & Contests:

  • Ads offering gratis goods or services are required to specify when terms and conditions are effective.
  • The indication that terms and conditions apply must accompany all ads covering special offers, promotions, contests, sweepstakes or prize draws.
  • The offer, as advertised, must prominently be displayed on the landing page.
  • As an example – Should the ad make reference to the opportunity to win a gift card, such a contest is required to show, in a prominent way on the landing page, a clear link to the terms and conditions.
  • The following phrases are unacceptable in advertisements: "Everyone is a winner"; "Entry means a chance to win," or any verbiage akin thereto.

3.2. Products Relating to Medicines, Pharmacy, Fitness & esthetics:

  • Not allowable for advertisements and landing pages are unrealistic and improbable assertions or suggestions of unattainable goals regarding products' capabilities.*
  • It may not be suggested that products relating to fitness and esthetics, which are prescribed by a doctor, are of the same quality of those not so prescribed.
  • Products related to loss of weight may not assert that the client will attain weight loss from the product itself, or by ignoring a regimen based on calories and regular physical fitness practice.
  • Advertisements may not assert that the loss of weight for one is the same for all, or that the weight loss will not be reversed.
  • Potentially embarrassing bodily functions or conditions cannot be explicitly referenced by advertisements.
  • Idiot Free Zone llc does not allow advertisements of the following products.
    • Excluding food or meal replacements, no weight-loss supplements
    • Products pertaining to intimate personal healthcare.

3.3. The Content of Alcohol and Alcohol-Related Products is not accepted

4. Advertisement Content that is Unacceptable:

  • Emotionally exploitative or controversial content, or that which uses negative depictions of humans or animals, including images of actual or implied abuse or mistreatment.
  • Containing obscene matter or that which is obscene, defamatory, libelous, or infringing or invasive of intellectual or personal rights
  • Containing that which is threatening, abusive, harassing, hateful, or that incites violence or intolerance, or that advocates or discriminates against a protected group, whether based on race, color, national origin, religion, disability, sex, sexual orientation, disability, age or other category
  • Containing that which promotes any illegal, deceptive or dangerous products, services, or activities, including hacking or evading law enforcement
  • Containing that which is deceptive, false or misleading content
  • Containing that which is excessive violence including blood, gore, and violent gun play
  • Containing that which is foul, vulgar or obscene language, scatological references, or content that features nudity
  • Containing Images of tobacco use
  • Containing Loyalty/Affinity/Rewards and related content
  • Containing that which is overtly provocative imagery such as partial nudity or that which is blatantly and sexually prurient

5. Products & Services that are Unacceptable:

  • Those which pertain to gambling or gambling paraphernalia, including online gambling, poker or bingo
  • Those which pertain to healthcare practitioners, such as doctors or acupuncturists
  • Those which pertain to illicit drugs, drug paraphernalia or products to beat drug tests, as well as any substance or material containing Salvia Divinorum or Those which pertain to Salvinorin A
  • Those which pertain to medical research solicitations
  • Those which pertain to 900 phone numbers and other pay-per-call services
  • Those which pertain to online pharmacies
  • Those which pertain to pornography, escort services and products claiming to enhance sex, as well as other "adult" sexual products and services
  • Those which pertain to products or services deemed to be used for privacy invasion
  • Those which pertain to products or services that infringe, encourage, or enable, the infringement of intellectual property or personal rights
  • Those which pertain to products that are 'marketed to children' through messaging, imagery, or targeting
  • Those which pertain to psychics and related services
  • Those which pertain to questionable or dangerous activities, including (but not limited to) false document services, counterfeit designer goods, cable descramblers, fireworks, websites that promote hacking or evading law enforcement
  • Those which pertain to religious or spiritual products and services
  • Those which pertain to tobacco or tobacco related products, including e-cigarettes and accessories
  • Those which pertain to aerosol paint and etching cream
  • Those which pertain to hand gun safety certificates
  • Those which pertain to lethal or non-lethal weapon sales, including guns, gun parts, BB guns, bows, mace, blank powder, ammunition and firearm accessories
  • Those which pertain to supplements containing ephedrine alkaloids
  • Those which pertain to tattooing and body branding products and services
  • Those which pertain to UV tanning services and equipment

6. Guidelines for Specific Placement

6.1 Idiot Free Zone llc

  • For charity ads in general, the customer experience onsite needs to remain positive. Ads should focus on the positive outcome of donations without playing on an Idiot Free Zone llc member's emotional guilt to drive a donation. Ads cannot use emotionally exploitative or pleading language.
  • Prohibited are ads with content such as provocative, suggestive imagery such as partial nudity, blatantly sexual prurient poses or models in lingerie. Ads cannot show models in swimsuits or in similar levels of undress.
  • Prohibited are ads containing images of guns.
  • Prohibited are ads containing religious content.
  • Prohibited are ads containing dating services.
  • Unacceptable is content designed with the intention of distracting rather than engaging. Included, but not limited herein, are the following behaviors: loud, clashing colors, poor resolution images and fonts, intrusive, high-annoyance design elements such as flashing, high contrast transitions, or excessive animation, (e.g. pulsating, flashing, blinking, color to white).
  • Treated as 'video-like', will be motion graphics, and they must comply with the guidelines for auto play and video-like animation advertisements if they contain the following elements:
    • Animation and creative auto plays
    • That which is creative and utilizes continuous motion sequences with people, human behaviors (hands or fingers waving), animated characters or realistic objects (cars, appliances, etc.) for more than 3 seconds
  • Auto play video and video-like animation is available for entertainment (Theatrical, DVD, Video Games and TV) advertisers only. Auto play video and video-like animation must be frequency capped at 1 viewing per 24 hours per campaign.
  • There must be a 15 second maximum on video stream length for auto play. Looping/replays must be customer-initiated on click.
  • Progressive download streaming can be activated by video advertisements that are customer-initiated segments. There is a 30 second maximum on video stream length. There is a 30 second maximum on audio served in conjunction with a video stream.

6.2 Connections to Mobile Devices

  • All advertisements must comply with the following guidelines, together with the above Idiot Free Zone llc restrictions:
  • There is a limitation with regard to app downloads, tap to call or mobile optimized landing pages, for advertisements linking outside of Idiot Free Zone llc mobile. A mobile optimized landing page is generally defined as a page:
    • that which is appropriately-sized for mobile and/or tablet screens (without the need for the customer to pinch/zoom or scroll horizontally to view the page content)
    • that which is incorporates buttons and other navigation elements that are appropriately sized for thumbs and index fingers, as opposed to mouse-pointers
    • that which minimizes the number of keystrokes needed by providing defaults and avoiding free text fields where possible
  • We do not allow in-line video or other rich media assets on these pages; although we do allow links to full screen video on mobile-optimized landing pages.
  • If the user has disabled cookies on his/her browser, the landing page must be functional.
  • Apps are the only downloads we can accept.