Last Modified: 08/26/2014

Local Newspaper Sites - Ad Notes

General Notes


Ad Borders & Colors Ads must never be mistaken for site content. Every ad must have a minimum of a 1-pixel border of at least #333 or black or a background in a high-contrast color to make it stand out from site content. Close buttons must be bold and in a dark color (pale grays are not acceptable). The only exceptions to this rule are the Corner Peel, the expanding panel of the Fly-out ad and the Wallpaper that blends with the web page.
Advertiser Information Every ad must have the advertiser's contact information on the final frame. Information can be physical address, phone number and/or customer’s website.
Animation Animation is limited to 15 seconds, including looping, for all non-video ads (30 seconds max for in-banner video ads). Animation can start again on mouse over, but must stop immediately on mouse off.
Rich Media Ads Ad Ops recommends one rich media unit per page load. Two rich media units require testing (48 hour turnaround time).
Turnaround Time Allow a two business day minimum turnaround time when submitting requests to Creative Services. This allows for testing to ensure proper ad functionality.
Clicktags All flash banners must use the "clickTAG" code. See the Flash Scripts Tab for details.
Flash Flash Player Versions 5 to 10, AS2/3; Flash 5-7 recommended. Frame rate is recommended to be 12-18 fps, a max of 24fps is allowed.
Flash Filters and DoubleClick for Publishers (DFP) DFP (ad server) automatically converts most SWF files to HTML5, which allows those ads to serve on mobile devices. For .swf files that contain filters or sound, DFP gives this error message: filters and sound have poor performance on mobile devices. Because of this, filters and sound should not be used as they will not work in HTML5. Do not use either of these in any Flash file.
Click-through URLs A valid click-through URL is required for every ad (with the exception of click-to-call or click-to-text mobile banners). Click-through URLs can have a max of 490 characters.
Frequency Capping: Fly-Outs, Corner Peels, and Sliding Billboards are frequency capped in Pictela. Pop-ups, Pop-unders and Floating ads are frequency capped in the ad server. If the ad's auto layer should display once per user per 24 hours, then select the "Enable 1/24 cap" in Pictela.
Polite Ads Polite ads must be broken down into three files and serve on local papers only: 1. The alternative image (either GIF, JPG or PNG), with a 20k maximum. 2. An initial Flash file, with a 40k maximum. 3. The final Flash portion, with a 100k maximum (for the entire ad). The Polite portion of the ad will load after the rest of the page content finishes loading.

Corporate Promo Notes


dealsaver® and Find&Save; Ads® There is a process specifically for all dealsaver and Find&Save; ads and each ad will need to be approved by MI. Please email *all* dealsaver and Find&Save; ads to marketplaceads@mcclatchyinteractive.com for approval prior to sending to print or traffic. Once approved, you will receive an email with approval or changes. For those markets trafficking their own ads, the process is simply getting approval before printing or trafficking to your site. Remember that the name dealsaver is always lowercase, do not capitalize the name. If you have questions about this process, please contact Judy Hammer or AdOps Managers.

dealsaver® and Find&Save; Ads®
There is a process specifically for all dealsaver and Find&Save; ads and each ad will need to be approved by MI.

Please email all dealsaver and Find&Save; ads to marketplaceads@mcclatchyinteractive.com for approval prior to sending to print or traffic. Once approved, you will receive an email with approval or changes. For those markets trafficking their own ads, the process is simply getting approval before printing or trafficking to your site.

Remember that the name dealsaver is always lowercase, do not capitalize the name.
If you have questions about this process, please contact Judy Hammer or AdOps Managers.

Political Ad Policy Notes


McClatchy Interactive Political Ad Policy Attribution portion, approval by MI Ad Ops: This is the only portion of the political spec that MI Ad Ops can approve: All Candidate or Political Party advertisements must display either the phrase "Paid Political Advertisement" or "Paid for by [sponsoring organization]" in a clear and distinctive manner, and must satisfy all disclaimer requirements of federal or state law identifying the sponsorship of the advertisement. This disclaimer must be persistent throughout any animation and must be present in the final frame of the ad unit. Ad Content portion, approval by local market publisher/editor or corporate Vice Presidents for Advertising/News: This portion of the political spec must be approved by the local market’s publisher or editor, or by corporate Vice Presidents of Advertising/News, per the below: The content of the ads cannot take the form of attack advertising, contain hate, violent or racist rhetoric or symbols, or manipulate an actual image of a candidate. Local ads \| Approval by local market: Local market publishers and editors are responsible for judgment on whether the ad content is acceptable to run, and will take legal responsibility for the ad. MI Ad Ops does not need publisher approval for political ad content. National ads run in a single market \| Approval by local market: National Sales must receive email approval from the local market publisher or editor that the ad content is acceptable to run. The local market will take legal responsibility for the ad. National ads run across multiple markets \| Approval by corporate Vice Presidents of Advertising/News: National Sales must approve that the ad content is acceptable to run. If local markets dispute whether the ad falls within the guidelines, the Vice President for Advertising will consult with the Vice President for News. No ad will be removed by MI Ad Operations except at the direction of either corporate vice president. McClatchy Corporate will take legal responsibility for the ad. National remnant ads run across multiple markets \| Approval by corporate Vice Presidents of Advertising/News: Where national remnant ads aren’t available for review before digital publication, the Vice President for Advertising and/or the Vice President for News will determine whether an ad meets the guidelines. No ad will be removed by MI Ad Operations except at the direction of either corporate vice president. McClatchy Corporate will take legal responsibility for the ad.

McClatchy Interactive Political Ad Policy
Attribution portion, approval by MI Ad Ops:
This is the only portion of the political spec that MI Ad Ops can approve: All Candidate or Political Party advertisements must display either the phrase "Paid Political Advertisement" or "Paid for by [sponsoring organization]" in a clear and distinctive manner, and must satisfy all disclaimer requirements of federal or state law identifying the sponsorship of the advertisement. This disclaimer must be persistent throughout any animation and must be present in the final frame of the ad unit.
Ad Content portion, approval by local market publisher/editor or corporate Vice Presidents for Advertising/News:
This portion of the political spec must be approved by the local market’s publisher or editor, or by corporate Vice Presidents of Advertising/News, per the below: The content of the ads cannot take the form of attack advertising, contain hate, violent or racist rhetoric or symbols, or manipulate an actual image of a candidate.

Local ads | Approval by local market: Local market publishers and editors are responsible for judgment on whether the ad content is acceptable to run, and will take legal responsibility for the ad. MI Ad Ops does not need publisher approval for political ad content.
National ads run in a single market | Approval by local market: National Sales must receive email approval from the local market publisher or editor that the ad content is acceptable to run. The local market will take legal responsibility for the ad.
National ads run across multiple markets | Approval by corporate Vice Presidents of Advertising/News: National Sales must approve that the ad content is acceptable to run. If local markets dispute whether the ad falls within the guidelines, the Vice President for Advertising will consult with the Vice President for News. No ad will be removed by MI Ad Operations except at the direction of either corporate vice president. McClatchy Corporate will take legal responsibility for the ad.
National remnant ads run across multiple markets | Approval by corporate Vice Presidents of Advertising/News: Where national remnant ads aren’t available for review before digital publication, the Vice President for Advertising and/or the Vice President for News will determine whether an ad meets the guidelines. No ad will be removed by MI Ad Operations except at the direction of either corporate vice president. McClatchy Corporate will take legal responsibility for the ad.