IT ALL GOES so well in this TV ad for Newstalk – until the final few seconds.

That is because the tagline ‘Move The Dial’ at the end is, according to RTÉ, is a “call to action” and in contravention of RTÉ’s “codes and regulations”. That is the reason RTÉ has given for why it refused to run the ad on its platforms.

Newstalk has since lodged a complaint with the Competition Authority over the refusal.

At that point, 21 April, RTÉ had not yet published the “codes and regulations” it applies to accepting advertisements from other broadcasters. It has since done so here, and there’s a lot of wording dedicated to not running ads that “exhort listeners/viewers to switch radio/television channels”.

RTÉ told TheJournal.ie that the guidelines went up on the RTÉ website on 22 April but that they “have been in broad circulation in the industry, with agencies and clients, for many years”.

Here’s the ad. Warning: lots of high-octane music, and people jumping off the edge of things.

Newstalk lodges complaint over RTÉ’s refusal to run ad>

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