Pro-copyright campaign for UK film and TV
February 14, 2011
By Colin Mann
The UK film and TV industry is launching what it hopes is an inspirational pro-copyright campaign, encouraged by research that suggests education can create positive shifts in public attitudes.
On the 18th February, the UK audio-visual industry is debuting what it describes as “an emotionally explosive education campaign” that aims to win hearts and minds on copyright and creativity. The new campaign seeks to address the continued challenge posed by copyright infringement.
‘Moments Worth Paying For’ capitalises on audiences’ passion for film and TV content to inspire greater respect for copyright and the value of creative works. It celebrates the intense emotional payback of great viewing experiences – and proposes this is ‘worth paying for’.
The campaign also highlights the wealth of official ways to watch film and TV by directing viewers to findanyfilm.com – a gateway to official film and TV services across a range of formats, both on and offline.
The £5million (€5.96m) ‘Moments Worth Paying For’ campaign is being funded by the film and TV industry’s copyright education body, the Industry Trust for IP Awareness, whose previous campaigns are estimated to have stemmed the growth of copyright infringement by five per cent between 2007 and 2009.
The Trust says that independent tracking research demonstrates the positive potential for education campaigns to alter consumers’ attitudes and, ultimately, behaviour: The number of people who think digital copyright infringement is wrong has increased by 20 percentage points from 34 per cent in 2007 to 54 per cent today, while the number who regard digital copyright infringement as “nothing to be proud of” has increased by 45 percentage points from 22 per cent in 2007 to 67 per cent today.
Liz Bales, Director General of the Industry Trust for IP Awareness, said that previous Trust campaigns had helped to make the public more likely to want to do the right thing. “‘Moments Worth Paying For’ goes one step further by also showing where they can do this. Findanyfilm brings together a multitude of film and TV providers, from cinemas to online catch-up services and everything in between, to make it easier than ever for the public to enjoy official content,” she explained.
She added that the industry was working hard to meet consumers’ changing needs, bringing innovative new services to market, on and offline. “We hope that by spotlighting the wide choice on offer, we can help persuade the one in three people currently using unauthorised sources that there are a wealth of value-for-money, official alternatives,” she concluded.
‘Moments Worth Paying For’ includes digital and outdoor advertising, as well as a series of cinema trailers which use innovative super slow motion camera techniques to capture, in minute detail, a range of intense emotional reactions to film and TV. The trailers will launch in UK cinemas on Friday 18th February.
Daniel Frigo, Executive VP and General Manager, Walt Disney Studios, described consumer education as “incredibly important”, noting that Disney had created several anti-piracy clips with Pixar, whether for Wall-e, Ratatouille, or Toy Story, which highlighted the art and importance of this format. “The creative value and the significance to the film-makers of how much effort, energy and talent goes into making a film is immeasurable and we of course want to protect that. That’s why consumer education, through powerful campaigns like ‘Moments Worth Paying For’, is so critical,” he declared.
Ian Lewis, Director of Sky Movies and Sky Box Office, said that while the future shape of copyright regulation remained uncertain, the industry should work together to inform and educate consumers about the importance of choosing legitimate film and TV services.