Paid Ad Memorandum & Credit Block
When your film ships to a distributor, the credit obligations ship with it. Main title card, end crawl, paid ads - each has specific contractual requirements. We assemble, coordinate, and document them before delivery day.
What Is a Paid Ad Memorandum?
A paid ad memorandum documents how your film's credits must appear in paid advertising for a specific period. It's a contractual guarantee that when your distributor spends money on trailers, billboards, print ads, or digital promotion, certain credits appear proportionally with the film's title.
For example: "Producer credit must appear in all paid ads where the film title appears." Or - in some cases - "Producer credit appears in 50% of paid advertising." The memorandum locks this down. It protects your contractual right to be credited. It also sets the baseline for what the distributor must deliver.
Paid ad memos are particularly critical in independent film, where producer and director credits often negotiate for ad placement. Without a written memo, disputes arise - "We didn't see our credit in that trailer" or "The credit was too small to read." By documenting the requirement in advance, you remove ambiguity and reduce disputes down the line.
Attorney Review & Legal Support
Paid ad memoranda often require legal review, particularly when credit obligations are contested or when IFTA-compliant delivery standards demand precise wording. When your project requires attorney review of credit obligations and paid ad compliance, our partnership with Kordestani Legal Partners provides access to entertainment legal counsel on a per-project basis.
Credit Block vs. Credit Roll vs. End Crawl
Credit Block (Main Title Card)
The opening sequence of your film where primary credits appear: director, producer, cinematographer, composer. This appears before the first image of the story.
Distributor specs vary: Netflix requires a specific font and duration. Theatrical distributors may require different formatting. Streaming platforms have their own requirements for readability.
End Crawl (Closing Credits)
The rolling credits at the conclusion of your film where cast, crew, below-the-line, and special thanks all appear. This is the longest credit section.
Common disputes: Credit order, font readability, duration per credit, inclusion of VFX vendors, music credits, union requirements (SAG-AFTRA, DGA, WGA).
Each distributor platform - Netflix, Amazon Prime, theatrical - has different technical specs for how long each credit can appear on screen, minimum font size, and required duration of the entire crawl. We verify your end crawl meets each platform's QC standards and IFTA-compliant delivery requirements before submission.
Common Credit Disputes & How to Prevent Them
1. Contractual Credit vs. Possessory Credit
Contractual credit: Guaranteed by employment contract (DGA director, WGA writer, SAG-AFTRA actors). Non-negotiable.
Possessory credit: Credits negotiated during deal-making (producer credit, executive producer, special thanks). Often a point of dispute because wording is ambiguous. We document exact wording, placement, and size.
2. Credit Order Disputes
Who appears first in the crawl - producers, then cast, then crew? Or cast first, then producers? This negotiation happens during production, not delivery. By the time the film ships, credit order should be locked. If it isn't, we coordinate the final order with all parties and document it in the paid ad memo.
3. Union Compliance Failures
DGA directors must appear in main title card. WGA writers must have credit placement per union specs. SAG-AFTRA has requirements for cast credit order. Missing a union credit requirement can trigger a compliance flag from the distributor. We audit your credits against union rules before submission.
4. Paid Advertising Disputes
Distributor's trailer comes out. Your production company's credit isn't visible. Dispute ensues. The paid ad memo prevents this. It contractually binds the distributor to credit requirements in their promotional materials. We document what "paid advertising" includes (trailers, TV spots, posters, digital ads) and what credits appear in each.
Our Process: From Production Docs to Delivery
- Inventory production documents: We review your production purchase agreements, DGA/WGA/SAG-AFTRA deals, and any negotiated producer/EPs credits to identify all contractual obligations.
- Assemble credit block: We work with your director to format main title card credits according to union requirements and your contractual obligations.
- Compile end crawl: All cast, crew, vendors, music, VFX, special thanks - organized in the agreed-upon order with correct union placement.
- Assemble paid ad memo: We compile which credits appear in paid advertising (trailers, TV spots, posters), at what size, and for what duration. This becomes part of your delivery package.
- Verify distributor specs: Different platforms have different technical requirements for credit duration, font, contrast, and readability. We verify your credits meet each distributor's QC standards.
- Submit with delivery: Credits and paid ad memo ship together as part of your legal delivery package. If disputes arise later, the memo is your contractual proof.
Why Credit Documentation Matters for Delivery
Distributors require a signed-off paid ad memorandum as part of their delivery checklist. Without it, your delivery is incomplete. More importantly, if a dispute later arises about whether credits were properly displayed in promotional materials, the memo is your contractual evidence.
For example: A producer's credit didn't appear in the Netflix promotional campaign. Without a written memo, proving the distributor violated the credit obligation is difficult. With the memo, it's clear - the contract was breached, and remediation is required.
Credit disputes can be resolved through arbitration, but arbitration is expensive and time-consuming. A clear, well-assembled paid ad memo prevents disputes entirely. The cost of proper documentation now is far lower than the cost of credit arbitration later.
Expert Coordination on Your Timeline
We don't slow down your delivery. Paid ad memo assembly happens in parallel with your mastering work. We coordinate with your legal representatives, the distributor's legal team, and all parties with contractual credit obligations to finalize the memo before your delivery date.
If disputes arise during the process - a producer wants a larger credit than what was negotiated, or a union requirement conflicts with the agreed-upon order - we coordinate resolution between the parties and document the outcome. Our goal is a clean memo that all parties sign and that the distributor accepts without revision.