CBS Local Digital Media Advertising Guidelines

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A. Prohibited Creative Types / Attributes:

  1. Caution banners, e.g., ads that mimic operating system error messages.
  2. Appear to make the page look broken or as if something is not working on a web page.
  3. Extreme animation, i.e., endless loops, rapid flashing or movement, jiggling, shaking, etc.
  4. Full-page layer or other kinds of interstitials.
  5. Pop-ups and pop-unders.

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B.Prohibited or Restricted Creative Content:


Ads May Not:

  1. Promote gambling, where the user will play for money or property.
  2. Contain adult and/or borderline adult content (images or text), whether directly or indirectly promoted.
  3. Promote products or services from uncertified pharmacies.
  4. Promote web-based degree programs from non-accredited colleges.
  5. Promote pay-day loans or any other type of questionable or predatory lending practices.
  6. Automatically trigger downloads of any kind
  7. Promote or contain viruses, worms, corrupted files or other materials intended to damage or render inoperable software, hardware or security measures of CBS Local, any user of the CBS Local websites and/or services or any third party.
  8. Facilitate or promote hate speech, whether directed at an individual or a group, and whether based upon the race, sex, creed, national origin, religious affiliation, sexual orientation or language of such individual or group.
  9. Promote or facilitate defamatory or illegal activities, e.g., terrorism, sale of counterfeit products, promotion of fake documents, hacking tools, illegal drugs, prostitution.
  10. Contain obscene, profane, libelous or slanderous text or images.
  11. Comprise or facilitate scams or phishing operations, i.e., ads that collect sensitive personal information for unauthorized use.
  12. Contain copy that is untrue, misleading, deceptive, or fraudulent or falsely disparaging of others.
  13. Promote local market daily deal sites.
  14. Promote other in-market local media companies.

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Ads Subject to Restrictions and CBS Local Pre-Approval:


  1. Ads that promote, whether directly or indirectly, beer, wine, hard liquor, tobacco products or firearms.
  2. Ads promoting political agendas.
  3. Ads containing religion- and spirituality advice-related content.
  4. Ads promoting personals or dating content.
  5. Ads containing sex advice-related content.
  6. Ads promoting websites and services which compete with CBS Local websites and/or services.
  7. Ads promoting sweepstakes or contests.

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C. At any time and for any reason in its sole discretion, CBS Local reserves the right to (a) refuse any advertising/advertisers; (b) make exceptions to these guidelines on a case-by-case basis; (c) take down ads it deems inappropriate; and (d) revise these guidelines by posting updates on this page. Final and ongoing approval of all creative material is at the sole discretion of CBS Local. In addition, CBS Local reserves the right to reevaluate previously approved creative materials at any time to ensure ongoing compliance with our guidelines and to ensure an optimal user experience, as well as in the event the creative elicits a significant amount of negative feedback from CBS Local users.