The FCC Steps In To Assure Truth In Airborne Advertising

ANN April 1 Special Edition

Since the days of the early barnstormers banner towing by airplanes has been a fun way to get your short message seen readily by a lot of people. Banner towing operations have always been regulated through the aviation system of rules, but now that is changing.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulates transmitted electronic communications through the air, and now that has been expanded to mean any communication that takes place through a process that is airborne. The White House administration has expressed a concern about an airborne communication system that cannot be easily regulated by the government. This concern has led the President to issue an Executive Order placing the FCC in control of any airborne communication system which includes banner towing.

This means that all banner towing operations must not only be FAA certified, they must also hold an FCC issued Commercial Broadcast License. It also requires banner towing operations to comply with all truth in advertising laws for any message that is towed behind the airplane.

For example, if a banner were to read “Refresh with Budweiser,” the banner towing operation may have to show evidence that Budweiser really is refreshing. Another example could be a banner with the message “Joe loves Susie.” Will the banner towing company have to prove that Joe really does love Susie?  Banners promoting political candidates will be exempt from the advertising rules because it is accepted by the FCC that politicians never lie.

ANN is watching this news story unfold. We are concerned that the new rules may also be applied to sky writers and blimps that utilize the airways to spread commercial messages.  As always, we will watch and report.

FMI: www.fcc.gov