The Media Center is an online repository of advertisements and marketing materials produced by state and local health departments, nonprofit organizations, and federal agencies related to obesity and other chronic diseases. The purpose of the Media Center is to share best practices, audience testing, and communication materials to support programs focused on chronic disease prevention and other topics (beyond tobacco). The Media Center complements the Tobacco Media Campaign Resource Center (MCRC).

Note: The words "ads" and "advertisements" are used interchangeably here to refer to all paid media messages. The words "commercials" and "spots" are used interchangeably to refer to all ads for television or radio.

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The Media Center includes television and radio commercials, print, outdoor, social media, digital, video, and photos. The Media Center also includes complementary campaign materials such as brochures, flyers, and other materials. Some ads/materials are view-only to inform and inspire; these are not available to order.

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The Media Center provides a "one-stop-shop" for organizations searching for audience-tested materials. Its intent is to make finding, reviewing, choosing, and placing advertisements/materials both easy and cost-effective. This helps to cut time and costs for producing and placing advertisements, materials, or photos.

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You can browse the ads and materials in the collection, mark advertisements of interest, review audience testing information and request cost quotes.

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The Media Center may be used by nonprofit organizations or government agencies. Each organization or agency must sign a use agreement specifying the intended use of the materials and obligating the user to pay all associated costs (i.e., talent, photographer, music fees; adding your logo, organization name, website; and shipping expenses). Per the licensing agreements with the original producers of the materials, for-profit organizations are not allowed to use any materials other than those produced directly by CDC. Permission for these for-profit organizations to use CDC materials will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may not be granted.

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No. An agency is not necessary to successfully select, buy, place or evaluate any of the ads/materials found on the Media Center. Please contact the Media Center with any questions you may have about any ads/materials.

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The Media Center offers many resources to help you determine which ads/materials are most appropriate for your campaign.

Ads/materials currently bought out and Temporarily Free (see Question #21) are less expensive because you are sharing costs with other users. There are also ads/materials that have no talent fees at all. You can view these ads/materials by clicking the Free or Temporarily Free under the Cost item on the search page.

The Media Center also offers technical assistance to help you select and test materials appropriate for your efforts. Contact the Media Center for more information.

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To order an ad/material from the Media Center, you must first request a username and password. While anyone can search the ads/materials on the Media Center, only authorized users are able to review and order ads/materials. After you have received your username and password, have searched the database and found ads/materials you would like, you will need to add these to your Requested Ads list. At this point, you will provide information on how you plan to use the ad(s)/material(s) so that we can provide you with a cost estimate (e.g., talent or use fees; cost to add your logo, organization name, or website).

You are strongly encouraged to test ads/materials with your audience before placing an order. Preview files are available for testing free of charge.

When you have tested and selected the ads or materials you wish to use, the Media Center will send you a use agreement that confirms your obligation to pay the associated costs. A person authorized to bind your organization to legal agreements must sign this document. We will not be able to start processing your order (e.g., adding your logo, organization name, website) until we receive the signed copy of this agreement. Once this agreement has been signed, you are obligated to pay the talent fees even if you decide later not to use a particular ad/material.

Once we receive your signed agreement, we will add your local information (e.g., logo, organization name, website) and prepare your materials as requested (see Question #19). If required, the Media Center will ship tapes, DVDs, or CDs via overnight delivery to you or other vendors you specify at your expense. The entire process, from the day we first receive your signed order, usually takes about 2 weeks.

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Any changes to the body of the ad/material—words or images—must be approved in advance by the original producing agency as well as the original sponsoring organization. This approval is determined on a case-by-case basis, and permission to make changes to the content of the ad/material is not always granted. Approval to translate ads/materials into a different language normally is granted, with final review of the translation by the producing agency or organization.

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The Federal Communications Commission requires that each television and radio commercial be identified with the name of its sponsoring organization. This sponsor’s identification and, in some cases, contact information is required. This information must not mention the name of any specific government officials (governors, mayors, etc.) because the ads/materials are not to be used for political purposes. Local radio stations may provide radio ads "live" for free.

The Media Center can add local information (e.g., logo, organization name, website) to each of the ads/materials you order for a fee (see Question 17). Please contact the Media Center for cost estimates and steps to add local information (e.g., logo, organization name, website) to ads/materials.

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Ads/materials in the Media Center will often have licensing agreements to cover talent costs that users need to abide by. The licensing fees vary depending upon the ads/materials, the length of time it will run, geographic region, and a variety of other factors (see Question 12).However, the licensing fees to use ads/materials that are already produced and tested are considerably less expensive than creating and testing new ads/materials.

Historically, the entertainment and media fields required additional payment for talent, music, and other elements of a completed production based on its re-use or re-broadcast. These are called residual payments or residuals. Many of the ads/materials in the Media Center were produced under agreements made between the producers, unions, and the people providing many of the necessary elements to bring the production together (i.e. actors and composers). When this is the case, you will need to pay the residual fees to use the ads/materials. In addition to the residual fees (see Question 13), there may be additional costs for talent, music, and adding local information (e.g., logo, organization name, website) (see Question 16 and Question 17).

The Media Center will help you choose which materials are right for your organization and provide an estimate of the fees necessary for the use of the ads/materials.

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Actors, models, musicians, and performers in the ads are paid "talent fees," both when the ads are originally produced and when they are reused. In most cases, these performers are members of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). This union governs the minimum charges for each type of ad/material use.

The dollar amount of the talent fees for each ad/material is determined by a number of factors, including:

• The Number of Performers in the Ad/Material
• The Rate Each Performer Charges
• The Type of Use
  This may include paid use on broadcast network affiliates, the Internet, social media, cable, use as a public service announcement, use in theaters or schools, etc.
• The Music Fee (if applicable)

The Media Center will provide estimates of talent fees for each ad/material you request based on how you expect to use it. The exact cost will not be determined until rates are negotiated individually for each specific use.

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Yes. In some cases, nonunion performers may be paid a single fee for all uses of the ad/material. This is called a buy-out. Under this type of agreement, no further talent fees are due. There are also times when organizations will "buy-out" an ad/material that includes union talent fees for a specified period of time (e.g., 1 year). When this is the case, the ad/material is referred to as being Temporarily Free. The Media Center has compiled all of these "free" ads/materials onto appropriate formats for educational use or for broadcast. To search just the "free" ads/materials, click the Free or Temporarily Free box under the Cost Range item on the search page.

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Public service announcements (PSAs) are defined as any communication intended for the public good that is aired or published free of charge. PSAs are not defined by their content; only by their nonpaid placement. The placement of the ad/materials, not the content, is free.

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Just like "residual payments" for actors and performers (see Question 10), musical score composers or music licensing companies also sometimes contractually require additional payment for re-use of music in ads or other electronic media. Please contact the Media Center with any questions you may have concerning the cost of using any materials.

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Costs vary based on a number of factors including the following:

• Whether the ad/material needs to be re-narrated (TV or radio)
• Whether the Media Center is creating the content to add or it is provided
• Number of characters (e.g., letters, numbers, symbols) in the information to add and the font size required

Please contact the Media Center for an estimated cost for your ad(s)/material(s).

Costs vary based on the media output format. The Media Center will provide electronic, downloadable print and broadcast ready files through an FTP site at no cost. Print ad/material files that are small enough may also be e-mailed at no cost.

Requests for "hardcopy" formats (e.g., DVD, CD, videotape) will incur additional fees and shipping costs. Please contact the Media Center for an estimate.

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The SAG-AFTRA does not allow members to donate their services entirely because, in the past, there have been cases with other public service causes in which actors’ services were misused. Some performers are motivated to appear in commercials because of their own personal experiences and will normally accept the minimum "scale" payments. For some actors in ads, this is their job, and they charge accordingly.

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The availability of donated air time is a primary factor in when PSAs will air. PSAs often are aired during off-hours and during times that cannot be easily sold to regular advertisers, such as in the middle of the night. These times are determined by the radio and television stations airing the spots —not the organization providing the spots. Sometimes individual stations will agree to air PSAs throughout the day, but usually it is more effective to buy air time on a station and work with a station's staff regarding when commercials will air to ensure that your message is reaching your audience with sufficient reach and frequency. By paying for the air time, the spot becomes a paid commercial, not a PSA.

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Media buying is the act of negotiating and securing advertising space on a television station, radio station, billboard, website, social media site, or other media outlet to distribute an advertising message to an audience. The negotiation of the payment and rate for the placement can be handled directly between you and the media outlet or through a professional media buyer who often can negotiate better rates. Many advertising agencies retain media buyers on staff to help expedite the payment and placement of media for their clients.

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Yes. Talent and licensing fees still apply and are determined by how the ad/material is used (see Question 13). To determine the cost for the use of a specific ad/material, you will need to login and submit a request for quote.

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To help make paid advertising campaigns easier and more affordable; the Media Center sometimes offers a package of ads at reduced cost. For these packages, the Media Center selects a set of ads on a particular theme and pays some or all of the talent fees associated with the use of these ads for a specified period of time (usually one year). Media Center customers are then responsible only for covering the costs for adding local information (e.g., logo, organization name, website) and any other fees (see Question 17). Please contact the Media Center for information about current ad packages.

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Yes. These uses are not free. The Media Center has a special agreement with the union representing actors —SAG-AFTRA— to allow use of the ads in schools at PSA rates. Other uses, such as in theaters, sports arenas, health care clinics and offices, community centers, etc., require payment under "theatrical and industrial use" fees. This is a more expensive rate, but it covers 21 months of use. The Media Center free ads may be used for these purposes without any fees (see Question 14 and Question 21).

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Unless the ad/material is Free or Temporarily Free (see Question 13), Internet usage of Media Center ads/materials is not free. These uses must be negotiated with the individual performers, models, and photographers in each ad/material. These talent fees are separate and in addition to fees you may have incurred for the primary use of the ad/material (e.g., television, radio, print, or billboard ads).

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Just like all other media outlets, using ads/materials on social media sites often requires you to negotiate and purchase space. In addition, you may need to pay residual fees to use the ad/material on the site. Please contact the Media Center with any questions you have regarding ad/material placement via social media (see Question 13 and Question 16).

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Placing your ads/materials in the Media Center allows other locations and organizations to take advantage of the time and expense that you have put into producing high-quality materials. This exposure can help to build wider recognition of your ads/materials. The first step is to contact the Media Center and share your ads/materials. The Media Center will then advise of next steps. Next, the Media Center Steering Committee will review ads/materials and determine if they are appropriate for inclusion in the Media Center.

If the Media Center Steering Committee accepts your ad(s)//material(s), we will send you a licensing agreement that allows the CDC nonexclusive rights to redistribute your materials. A representative from your organization who is authorized to bind your organization to legal agreements must sign this document. You will then be asked to send us the ad/material source files along with additional detailed information about the audience research, performers, music, models, themes, intended audiences, or other considerations for each ad/material.

Organizations that have placed ads/materials in the Media Center have done so as a service to others working on chronic disease prevention and other topics (beyond tobacco). There is no cost to the producing organization to place ads/materials in the Media Center nor is there any payment to the producing organization to include ads/materials in the collection. Any talent or other usage fees for use of the ads/materials are incurred by the organization that uses the ads/materials.

The Media Center only accepts submissions from nonprofit organizations and government agencies. Ads/materials must be high quality and tested with the audience before use. Please contact the Media Center if you are from an entity other than a nonprofit organization or government agency and have produced high-quality ads/materials with audience testing to demonstrate their effectiveness. Exceptions to this policy will be made on a case-by-case basis and may not be granted.

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If you have other questions about the Media Center, send an email to schmc@cdc.gov.

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