A request for advertising rates by an ad agency representing the Mini Cooper serves as a reminder to broadcasters of the recently-imposed obligation to insure that broadcast advertisers do not discriminate on the basis of race or gender.  As we wrote several months ago, the FCC has adopted a new requirement that a broadcaster certify at license renewal time that their advertising contracts require advertisers certify that they were not making advertising decisions based on the race or gender of the audience of the broadcast station.  This was to eliminate the "no urban/no Spanish" dictates that many felt were a discriminatory part of the advertising landscape.  As demonstrated by the controversy that erupted when this request for rates was circulated, stations need to insure that their contracts contain language prohibiting discrimination in advertising buys, as any such dictates will not be a secret.  And once they get out, if a station has run a campaign purchased by an advertiser who had included such dictates, the station running the campaign may have difficulty in making the required certification as the station knows that the actions of the advertiser contradict any certifications that the advertiser may have made in signing the station advertising contract containing the required certifications.

Our earlier post on the issue suggested some language to include in an advertising contract disclaimer, and also discussed the issue of the positive use of racial or gender advertising specifications for ads targeting minority and gender specific audiences.  But the issue in the Mini Cooper case makes clear that many in the advertising community, and probably many in the media community, do not know about the adoption of the FCC’s policy, or the proposal to extend the policy to cable advertising.  It is also interesting to note that the FCC has refused to provide more specific guidance on this rule, not even specifying the language that should be used in contracts.  Nor has the new license renewal form containing the required certification that the broadcaster must make about his compliance with this rule been released, making it unclear if this form has even passed review by the Office of Management and Budget under the Paperwork Reduction Act. 

Nevertheless, it seems fairly clear that broadcasters will need to observe these requirements, as they will, at some point, need to certify that advertisers have not utilized the no Urban/no Spanish dictates.  One of the requests by parties complaining of the Mini Cooper order was that the FCC set up an officer to enforce this requirement.  Certainly, some more instruction on this new requirement will be necessary for mishaps like the Mini Cooper case to be avoided.