CBS/Fox Video/Anti-Piracy Notices

1st Bumper (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 (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 (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.

(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.