Ster
{{Short description|Organisation responsible for advertising on NPO}}
{{more citations needed|date=May 2012}}
{{Infobox broadcasting network
| network_name = Stichting Ether Reclame
| network_logo = Logo of Stichting Ether Reclame.svg
| country = Netherlands
| network_type = Public broadcaster dedicated to radio and television advertisements
| available = Netherlands
| founded = {{Start date and age|1965}}
| website = {{URL|https://ster.nl}}
| logo caption = Logo since 8 November 2001, using the Franklin Gothic typeface
| tvstations = {{plain list|
}}
| radiostations = {{plain list|
}}
}}
Ster (Stichting Ether Reclame, English: 'Foundation for Ether Advertisement') is a Dutch organisation responsible for the broadcast of radio and television ads on the media outlets of NPO. With the income from these, parts of the costs of public broadcasting are paid for.
STER was founded in 1965 as the Stichting tot Uitzenden van Reclame ("Foundation for the Broadcasting of Advertisements"); the name was changed to the present name that same year. STER is most famous for Loeki de Leeuw, an animated puppet which appeared at the beginning and ending of all of STER's commercials from 1972 until 2004, and again in 2019 and from 2021 onwards.
Content and timing
STER may not use more than 10% of the airtime per year on advertisement and daily not more than 15% and also not air ads within programs (as happens on the Dutch commercial stations). For programming with long runtimes, like UEFA Champions League events, they consider the pregame (produced by NOS), each half of the game (first half produced by AVRO, second half produced by KRO), halftime (produced by NCRV), and the postgame (produced by VARA) as separate standalone programs in their programming guide and air ads between them.{{cite web| url = http://nos.nl/televisie/gids/| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20091216173457/http://www2.nos.nl/televisie/gids/| archive-date = 2009-12-16| title = NOS Televisie - Gids}}
STER is responsible for the contents of the ads which have to be strictly separate from the programs on the public networks and not influence the programming. Complaints about ads can be made at the {{lang|nl|Reclame Code Commissie}}[http://www.reclamecode.nl/bijlagen/20110515_NRC_Engels.pdf Information about the Dutch Advertising Code in English] (in English: "Advertising Code Committee", comparable to the Advertising Standards Authority in the UK). STER contributes about 200 million euro to the total budget of 900 million euro (2013) of the Dutch Public Broadcaster.
History
The first commercial break broadcast on Dutch television (excluding TV Noordzee) was on 2 January 1967 at 7pm. The first commercial was for CEBUCO, the newspaper advertising association, who was concerned about the arrival of television advertising being a death sentence to advertising on newspapers, beginning with the phrase "Seven seconds ago, the first advertisement started on television. You heard of it from your newspaper". The slogan used by the association, {{lang|nl|de Krant kunt u niet missen geen dag}} ("You never miss a day without your newspaper") called for the survival of the industry.{{cite web |title=TV-Moment: de 1e tv-reclame (1967) |url=https://www.spreekbuis.nl/tv-moment-de-1e-tv-reclame-1967/ |website=Spreekbuis |language=nl |date=2 January 2015}}{{cite web |title=Veertig jaar Ster-reclame |url=https://anderetijden.nl/aflevering/367/Veertig-jaar-Ster-reclame |website=Andere Tijden |language=nl}} Other commercials on the first break included Syntraciet coal ovoids, Kwatta chocolates, Jumbo board games and Zenith watches. On 1 March 1968, Ster started radio broadcasts with slots on Hilversum 1, 2 and 3. The company's logo was designed in 1966 by Karel van Hes and followed a style similar to M. C. Escher with four blocks. It is estimated that this arrangement of the logo appeared a million times from 1967 to 2001, when the current logo was adopted.[https://www.spreekbuis.nl/ster-al-40-jaar-geen-alledaagse-blokkendoos/ Ster, al 40 jaar ’geen alledaagse blokkendoos’] Between commercials, in its first five years on air, an optical consisting of a wave effect was shown.{{cite web |url=https://www.google.pt/books/edition/Mind_the_Screen/vghMohrEaw8C |title=Mind the Screen: Media Concepts According to Thomas Elsaesser |publisher=Amsterdam University Press |year=2008}}
Ster started using Loeki de Leeuw shorts for its commercial breaks in 1972.{{Cite web|title=Joop Geesink|url=https://www.lambiek.net/artists/g/geesink_joop.htm|access-date=2021-01-02|website=Lambiek Comiclopedia|language=en}}
In May 1990, the government announced the passing of a law to enable television commercials - and consequently - Ster's activities, to be allowed on Sundays.[https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/1990/05/12/kabinet-staat-tv-reclame-op-zondag-toe-6929765-a316520 Kabinet staat tv-reclame op zondag toe] The law was approved in April 1991.[https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/1991/04/23/reclame-op-zondag-op-nederlandse-tv-kb_000029682-a3802734 Reclame op zondag op Nederlandse tv] Ster's advertising growth in 1993 projected a 50% slide due to the impact of a commercial recession, witnessing no growth in the first half of the year.[https://variety.com/1993/tv/news/clt-aims-to-launch-new-dutch-tv-channel-oct-2-108256/ CLT aims to launch new Dutch TV channel Oct. 2]
On 8 November 2001, STER introduced a new logo for the first time of 36 years since its establishment in 1965. The 36-year-old four-blocked diamond-cube logo was confined to history after 36 years of legal competition, and was replaced by a blue-lined diamond that contains the "Ster" wordmark which uses the Franklin Gothic typeface, which cements its status as a "dynamic organisation" rather than a "bureaucratic company". Loeki continued during breaks due to his popularity. The new logo debuted on STER's website on 2 January 2002.[https://www.adformatie.nl/marketing/merkstrategie/ster-heeft-nieuw-logo Ster heeft nieuw logo] Since 2003, the opening and closing bumpers have been aligned with the graphics of the three channels.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Commons category inline}}
- {{Official website|https://www.ster.nl/}}
{{NPO}}
{{European Broadcasting Union Members}}
Category:Dutch public broadcasting organisations
Category:Dutch-language television networks
Category:Television channels and stations established in 1965
Category:Mass media companies established in 1965
Category:Advertising agencies of the Netherlands
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