Home Video Anti-Piracy Notices/Australia

1st Bumper (CBS-FOX Video) (A) (1987-1988)
(skip to 2:14)

Bumper: On a red gradient background with a yellow grid, we see a VHS with a blue spine, a white label (black text and CBS/Fox Video logo), and a CBS/Fox logo sticker on the left reel side. About 10 seconds later, the VHS and grid move up (revealing the CBS/Fox logo next to the words "CBS/FOX Video" on the spine) so we can only see the top. Then we see a Betamax tape (which has the same tape label as the VHS) on the same background (only without the grid), where we see a pink/red-tiled hologram seal with a transparent blue CBS/Fox logo shown on the reel, and the hologram zooms in for clarification. It goes back on the tape, then we see both of the tapes together on the same background, and the Australian Film and Video Security Office phone number is shown below.

Variant: On earlier releases with this bumper, the phone number is different.

Technique: The VHS tape and the zooming in of the polarized seal. Very primitive CGI.

Music/Sounds/Voiceover: "To ensure you receive the best possible sound and picture quality in video entertainment, CBS/Fox Video have introduced a new blue spine on all VHS cassettes. If the VHS cassette you're watching does not look like this, it's possible you're viewing an inferior pirated copy. Beta cassettes do not have a blue spine; Beta program quality is guaranteed by this polarized seal. If your cassette does not carry these guarantees of quality, phone the Australian Film and Video Security Office. Help stop video pirates."

Music/Sounds/Voiceover Variant: On the early variant, the voiceover adds "on (02) 387 2655" to the end of "If your cassette does not carry these guarantees of quality, phone the Australian Film and Video Security Office".

Availability: Rare. Seen on Australian CBS/FOX VHS tapes that have a blue spine. Oddly, this bumper doesn't appear on Crocodile Dundee despite the tape carrying a blue spine. For tapes with a yellow spine, the next bumper is used.

2nd Bumper (CBS-Fox Video) (B) (1988-1990)
(skip to 2:51)

Bumper: Same as last time, except it's on a blue gradient background with no grid, the VHS has a yellow spine, and the VHS starts from the top then moves down to the front.

Technique: Same as before, except the cheap CGI lines were removed from the previous bumper and the CGI of the VHS tape is less cheap now.

Music/Sounds/Voiceover: Mellow funky elevator music plays and a different stoic man says "If the VHS cassette you're watching does not look like this, it's possible you're viewing an inferior pirated copy. Beta cassettes do not have a yellow spine. Beta program quality is guaranteed by this polarized seal. If your cassette does not carry these guarantees of quality, phone the Australian Film and Video Security Office. Help stop video pirates."

Availability: Rare. It was seen on Australian CBS/FOX VHS Tapes that have a yellow dpine. Later 1990-1991 releases brought back the blue spine, so the next CBS/FOX Bumper is used.

3rd Bumper (Early 1990's-Mid 2000's)
Bumper: Against a background featuring a black waterproof silicone flooring, an upside-down VHS tape with a(n unrealistic) wavy sticker label on it reading the bold gold text "VIDEO PIRACY" shifts into view, and the "VIDEO PIRACY" sticker zooms in onto the screen. It then wiggles and moves out of view, bringing forth the following giant gold text with tiny white text below it:

HAVE (Have you ever been sold a Pirate Video?) YOU (You may not have got what you paid for.) GOT (Got a few moments? Make a visual check) WHAT (What to look for - 1. Poor programme quality 2. Incorrect labels) YOU (You probably wouldn't get this message on a Pirate Tape) PAID (PAID A PIRATE?...If you think you may have, let us know) FOR (For confidential assistance contact us now)

After all the text has slid in, some more text finally fades in, such as "PHONE", two phone numbers next to it, and the address of the Australasian Film & Video Security Office.

Trivia: This bumper was designed to be read even when fast-forwarded through.

Technique: The sliding, the fading.

Music/Sounds/Voiceover: A voiceover says the following: "Have you ever bought or rented a video tape that wasn't quite right? It may have been a pirated copy, an illegal and inferior copy for which you paid good money. Pirated tapes are recognizable by poorly presented or photocopied jackets, poor sound, and/or picture quality. The lack of sensor and other labels on the face and spine on the tape, and the absence of warnings, such as this at the beginning of the tape presentation. Pirate tapes rob artists and studios and their rightful income, and add to the cost of the video to the consumer. Video piracy is a major problem in Australia. Please help us stop it. If you buy or rent a tape which you believe is not the genuine article, please phone the toll-free number for advice, or write to Post Office box 515 Mona Vale New South Wales, 2103. This message is brought by the Australasian Film and Video Security's Office."

Availability: Seen on various video companies in Australia.

4th Bumper (CBS-Fox Video) (C) (1990-1991)
(skip to 3:19)

Bumper: On a striped background similar to the 1983 ABC IDs and the Kartes Video Communications logo, we see a flashlight beam move in from the bottom and highlights a VHS tape with a blue spine. The VHS has the same animation from the 1st bumper. Then it turns into the animation for the 2nd bumper and zooms out, where we see the AFaVSO number below in a serif font.

Technique: The CGI of the VHS Tape, the spotlighting of the tape, and the fading in of the phone number.

Music/Sounds/Voiceover: "If the VHS cassette you're watching does not look like this, it's possible you're viewing an inferior pirated copy. All CBS/Fox Video VHS cassettes have a colored customized spine, which is your guarantee of audio and video quality. If your cassette does not carry this guarantee of quality, phone the Australian Film and Video Security Office. Help stop video pirates."

Availability: Rare. It can be seen on later Australian CBS/FOX Releases from 1990-1991 that have a blue spine.

5th Bumper (Fox Video) (1991-1995)
(skip to 3:46)

Bumper: On a blue marble background, we see two VHSes with a blue spine, one with its face down, and one with the front of it on top of it. One has a blue spine, the same CBS/Fox tape label (but with Fox Video's print logo replacing the CBS/Fox one), and a Fox Video logo sticker on the left reel side, and the other has a blue spine showing the Fox Video logo next to the text "FoxVideo". As the voiceover gets to the hotline part, the tapes zoom out to reveal the AFaVSO number in a different serif font.

Technique: The zooming.

Music/Sounds/Voiceover: Same as before, except the man says "All Fox Video VHS cassettes" instead of "All CBS/Fox Video VHS cassettes".

Availability: Same as before. This was the last warning produced by the AFaVSO.

6th bumper (What Are You Really Burning?) (2007-201?)
Bumper: Against a dark background with a yellow spotlight, we see a movie poster scaled to fit the screen. The poster suddenly catches fire, as the camera slowly zooms in. Once the poster is almost completely burned, the background dissolves with a firey rim, as the text "WHAT ARE YOU REALLY BURNING?" zooms in. This then fades out and transitions to a still shot of the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft logo.

Variants:
 * The poster changes dependent on the content of the DVD/Blu-ray. The most common variant used Happy Feet, although Wolf Creek, Kenny and Slumdog Millionaire variants exist.
 * When the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft rebranded to the Intellectual Property Awareness Foundation' the ending of the bumper was altered to reflect this. We see several grey curved lines zoom out, forming an abstract fingerprint. The foundation's name fades in to the right, and the url ipawareness.com.au fades in below.

Technique: CGI animation.

Music/Sounds/Voiceover: an ambient piece accompanied by the following voiceover: "Australia makes great films, and it's not just Australians saying that. But film piracy puts all this at risk. Burning, buying or downloading pirated films may seem harmless, but in the end, what you're really burning is the future of our film industry." The voiceover is provided by various Australian film industry giants, including George Miller (director of the Mad Max series and the aforementioned Happy Feet) and Margaret Pomeranz (best known for her SBS series The Movie Show).

Music/Sounds/Voiceover Variant: occasionally, the voicover is changed to this: "We all love seeing a good Aussie film. But with film piracy now costing 230 million dollars a year, expect to see a lot less. Burning, buying or downloading pirated films may seem harmless, but what you're really burning is the future of Australian films."

Availability: while seemingly no longer current, this bumper was extremely common in the late 2000s and into the early 2010s. Seen on DVDs and Blu-rays from several companies, most prominently Warner Home Video.

Legacy: This bumper reached a level of infamy within Australia, due to the seemingly confrontational nature of the bumper.