Vatican Radio runs commercial ads for the first time in its 78-year history

• Report rights infringement
• published: 23 Jul 2015
• views: 23

SHOTLIST The Vatican - 10 July 2009 1. Pan from energy provider company Enel advertising on St Peter's colonnade to St Peter's Basilica 2. Close of Enel ad 3. Rev. Federico Lombardi, Head of Vatican Radio, sitting in his office 4. SOUNDBITE (Italian) Rev. Federico Lombardi, Head of Vatican Radio: "We thought we could consider the advertising as an economic advantage for Vatican Radio itself, so to contribute, even if not with a big figure, to help with our budget expenses. The possibility to do so, as opposed to the past, came up from the evolution of the radio's broadcasting programme." 5. Various screen shots of Vatican Radio website and media player streaming Vatican Radio with audio (Italian) saying: 'Enel, one of the main energy providers in the world, is active everyday for the respect and protection of the environment, investing in research projects, in energy saving and the development of renewable resources, to provide an always cleaner energy to everybody.' 6. SOUNDBITE (Italian) Rev. Federico Lombardi, Head of Vatican Radio 'Anybody can easily understand that including advertising is a pretty normal choice in today's communications. There's no particular scandal in it, especially if the advertising spaces are conceived in harmony with the radio's programming. And of course there is a certain choice of the advertising we decide to run, so that these messages can fit coherently and harmonically with the rest of the radio's broadcasting.' Rome, Italy - 9 July 2009 7. Wide exterior of Enel headquarters 8. Close of Enel sign 9. Monica Maiorana, Enel Advertising & Media Communication Department, working at her desk 10. SOUNDBITE (Italian) Monica Maiorana, Enel Advertising & Media Communication Department: "We thought that it was an extremely interesting project, a chance we did not want to miss. Also because Enel is an international company and Vatican Radio has an extraordinary diffusion, it is the only radio covering in reality the whole world in a capillary way. And so we thought it was the best means, technically speaking, to spread our message abroad.' 11. Close of poster with Enel advertising slogan reading (Italian) 'Enel will take you towards a new Italy' The Vatican - 10 July 2009 12. Wide shot of Enel advertising on St Peter's colonnade STORYLINE Vatican Radio has started running commercials for the first time in its 78-year history, interspersing the pope's messages with "ideologically" sound publicity spots. The first ads from Italian energy giant Enel aired on 6 July only in Italian, but the station will also run ads in English, Spanish, French and German from Monday. Previously, it wasn't realistic to run advertisements since Vatican Radio had limited broadcast times on short-wave stations, said the Rev. Federico Lombardi, the head of Vatican Radio and the Vatican's chief spokesman. Now, though, the pope's broadcaster runs 24-hour programming on FM stations in much of Italy, and via the Internet for the rest of the world. Founded in 1931, Vatican Radio broadcasts the pope's messages and news of the Catholic Church and current affairs in 40 languages around the world. Rev. Lombardi, also director of the Vatican Press Office, said the Holy See's aim wasn't purely to make money, but also to collaborate with other institutions and introduce new forms of communications. An Italian communications firm specialising in publicity for Catholic media, MAB.q, will screen potential clients for quality and ethical content and propose them to the Vatican, officials said. Enel described the project as " extremely interesting project, and a chance the company did not want to miss. "We thought it was the best means, technically speaking, to spread our message abroad.' You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/b05d2abe82b9fda0c4daa16a09733fc5 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork