FAST Modern Piracy Ads

From 2009 onwards, FAST have none of those PIF ads.

1st Bumper
(1983-1987)

Nickname: "Stacking Tapes"

Bumper: We begins with the FAST word and the "Federation Against Software Theft" word appeared in a Eral font. At 10 seconds later, we see those VHS and Beta tapes are now pirated. We later cut to see those blanks tapes, then to real ones. We see those movie posters of E.T. (rated R), Octopussy (rated R), Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (rated G), Gandhi (rated PG). Then, it cut back into more pirated videos copies. We cut into a stage 23 where production of newer films are making. The stage 23 background fades into a laboratory, fades into a filming directors, fades into Jerry Lewis Cinemas 3 in Chula Vista, CA, fades back into the previous of the start. We see those words: "2 Years in Prison" and "Unlimited Fines". Those pirated videos copy zoom out into small version and fades out. We cut back into the start and see the phone number: 04 567 8767.

FX/SFX: Aside from the trail effect, nothing special, really.

Music/Sounds/Voiceover: A male announcer, the same from the 1991-1994 UK Piracy Warning says "FAST, the Federation Against Software Theft, is fighting an organised crime. The crime: video piracy. Whether a professional gang or a lone individual, video pirates are thieves, thieves who are getting very rich at your expense. The video business has become very important to film companies. The money earned from video has helped finance many new films. Yet, unbelievably, over half the video tapes available to the public are illegal copies. The money from those illegal copies is going directly into the pockets of crooks; not to the filmmakers. Counterfeit gangs are earning, literally, millions of pounds every week. The film industry can't withstand that sort of loss of income forever. Studios will close..., thousands of jobs will be lost..., no new films will be made..., and cinemas could disappear for good. Under a new law, passed by parliament, video pirates can now be sentenced to two years in prison, and given unlimited fines. Unless these criminals are caught, prosecuted and sentenced, the film industry will, quite simply, die. That's a fact. If you think you can help FAST in its fight against video piracy, please ring this number in complete confidence. Thank you."

Availability: Can be found at the end of VHS tapes in the 80s, such as the ones for Warner Home Video, MCA Home Video and on B-movie videos. Two examples with this PIF are the MCA Home Video releases of La Marge and Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence.

Editor's Note: The effects look very, very cheap.

2nd Bumper
(Late 1994-Mid 1997)

Nicknames: "The Devil of Anti-Piracy", "It's not worth it"

Bumper: We see a man going off to work and before he sets off he gives his wife the video that his daughter Rebecca wanted. Later Rebecca watches the video, as it flashes to the black background with the Words appear on screen reading: "Video Pirates copy 50 million videos a year...", We cut back to Rebecca giggling and we flash back the same background with the words reading: "Video Pirates make $250 million a year..." We cut back to Rebecca giggling again and we flash back to same background with the words "Most of the money goes to organised crime..." We cut to Rebecca's mum outside watering and we flash back to the same background with the words reading: "Media Play Stores" We cut to the video of The Busy World of Richard Scarry is this going static and Rebecca looking in shock into a classic Media Play store in Columbus, Ohio as we flash back to same background with the word reading: "Terrorism" we cut to Rebecca going over to her mum. Then we cut to a black background with a blue spotlight and he VCR falling and crashes, letting out dust as the words "VIDEO PIRACY" fades in and "It's not worth it" fades in underneath it.

FX/SFX: Live-action, the flash, the text zooming, the VCR falling the "VIDEO PIRACY/It's not worth it" fading in.

Cheesy Factor: The Canadian G Rating appears on the bottom right corner of the screen at the beginning.

Music/Sounds/Voiceover (This is an approximately complete transcript of the PIF):

We see a woman walk down the stairs of her house, where she sees her husband, putting his coat on.
 * Dad: (To Mom) I'm off. Oh, I've got that video Rebecca wanted. (Hands the mom the video) And it cost a fiver from that bloke, down the market.


 * Mom: Great! It's not even out yet, she'll love it.


 * Dad: I know. See you later. (He kisses the Mum on the cheek)


 * Mom: See you.


 * Dad: Okay.

The dad walks out the door. Inside a living room, we see Rebecca watching the video, where we can hear cartoon music, sound effects and dialogue from the video. She watches it in delight. Cutting to the words appearing, we hear the music stop abruptly, and a muffled explosion sound occurs as the words appear. This continues, then we cut outside to see the mom in the garden, watering her plants. The music can be heard playing faintly. After 'Media Play Stores', we hear the cartoon music from The Busy World of Richard Scarry replaced by loud VCR hiss off to a classic Media Play store in Columbus, Ohio, and Rebecca looks slightly worried. After, 'Terrorism', we cut to her, looking out the window to her Mum who is in the garden. We cut to a VCR falling against a black background with a small blue spotlight, which makes a crash noise as it hits the ground.
 * Mom: Bye, now.
 * Mom: (Notices Rebecca) You okay, honey?

Availability: Can be seen on mostly at the end of some VHS releases in the Canada from the following companies:
 * Columbia TriStar Home Video: First Knight, The Net, In Pursuit of Honour, and The Madness of King George
 * MCA/Universal Home Video: Street Fighter: The Movie (The First Appearance)
 * PolyGram Video/Manga Video: Canadian Bacon, Mixed Nuts, Patlabor 2, and The Quick and the Dead
 * Alliance Video: Slam Dunk Ernest, The Babysitter, Mortal Kombat, The Swan Princess, and National Lampoon's Senior Trip
 * Fox Video/20th Century Fox Home Entertainment: Miracle on 34th Street (1994)

3rd Bumper
(Late-1996-March 4, 2002)

Nickname: "Market"

Bumper: We pan down to reveal a market, then it cuts to a man walking up to a seller. He walks up to the seller attempting to return a pirated copy of Trainstopping, complaining about the picture and sound quality. The seller ignores this, and we cut to a flashback of the man with his mates looking in horror as they are watching the pirated VHS. Back at the market scene, the clerk asks for the receipt, and the man walks off annoyed as the seller tries to attract more customers by rapping two videos together (in style of Crime stoppers advertisement). We cut to a white background with a black X behind two bars reading "Pirate Videos: The Land Before Time 2 Robbery".

Variants: FX/SFX: Live-action.
 * There are two versions, one with the letterbox, the other without the letterbox.
 * On rare occasions, the PIF FAST runs longer and has a different narrator, with a different accent and a lower tone.
 * DVDs from 1997-2002 improved as a 1080p quality.

Music/Sounds/Voiceover: (This is a complete transcript of the Market PIF),

We hear a train coming down on the bridge and the bell on the bike, A man who is walking in a market can hear a seller nearby.

Noah: Here you are darling Trainspotting, Here you metroids four, five or six.

Amy: Excuse me. I brought this video from you last Saturday.

Seller: So?

Amy: Well, I can't understand a word.

Seller: Trainspotting. Not surprised. Don't get my scarf shaving eh?

Amy: No. I mean, it's-- it's the sound. It's hopeless! Absolutely hopeless!

Seller: Yeah, yeah, not trying to get it over. Not supposed to be my fault as well. Here you are darling, Dragon Ball, 4.99.

Amy: Well the picture's rubbish as well!

Seller: Well that's your tracking mate.

Amy: Well, it's alright on my other videos.

Seller: Hmmm, tracking, starching.

Narrator: Be careful! (We cut to a flashback of the Man and his mates watching in horror) Most pirates are unwatchable and there's no comeback.

(We cut back to the market)

Seller: Got a receipt eh, Piracy? Got a receipt?, piracy!

Amy: But, you said last week-

Seller: It says no good, mate, Moral contract. Not worth the paper printed on. Here you are darling, Dragon Ball. (The man walks off annoyed), thanks buddy!. (He picks up two videos and raps them together several times to get everyone as he speaks) As advertised on Crime stoppers!

(We cut to the FAST tagline)

Narrator: Pirate Videos, Land Before Time 2 Robbery!

Availability: Very common for the time. Seen on either the beginning or at the end of VHS tapes and early DVDs in Canada only. This can be seen on many releases by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, Universal Studios Home Entertainment, PolyGram Video, DreamWorks Home Entertainment, Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment, Warner Home Video, Walt Disney Home Entertainment, Alliance/Atlantis Atlantis, MGM/UA Home Video/MGM Home Entertainment, and other home video companies:
 * 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment: James and the Giant Peach, Aliens 4, Independence Day (First PIF appearance), Broken Arrow, and Courage Under Fire
 * Universal Studios Home Entertainment/PolyGram Video/DreamWorks Home Entertainment: Bean, Fargo, The Game, Sleepers, Jude, Dracula: Dead and Loving It, Wild Kratts videos, The Busy World of Richard Scarry videos, Little Bill videos, later Noddy videos, The Land Before Time, The Land Before Time II, Maisy videos, early Blue's Room videos, Teletubbies videos, early Butt Ugly Martians videos (VHS only), Erin Brokovich, American Tail, The Treasure of Manhattan Island, The Land Before Time VI, The Land Before Time V, The Peacemaker, MouseHunt, Small Soldiers, Antz, Paulie, Gladiator, Road Trip, and Spice World
 * Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment: Call Me Claus, Evolution, Godzilla, The Patriot, Charlie's Angels, Still Crazy, The Mask of Zorro, Hollowman, The End of the Affair, Cruel Intentions, Anaconda, Just the Ticket, The Cable Guy, and Fools Rush In
 * Warner Home Video: Empire Records, You've Got Mail, Busytown Mysteries videos, Theodore Tugboat: Theodore's Friendly Adventures, Mars Attacks!, The Man Who Knew Too Little, Lethal Weapon 4, The Glimmer Man, Payback, South Park videos, South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut, Vegas Vacation, Friends: Series 2 - Episodes 1-4, FairyTale: A True Story, Twister, Murder at 1600, Batman & Robin, Bogus, Eraser
 * Walt Disney Home Entertainment: Tom and Huck
 * MGM/UA Home Video/MGM Home Entertainment: Bio-Dome, The Man in the Iron Mask, Fled, Escape Clause, Hackers, Tomorrow Never Dies, Species II, Red Corner
 * Alliance Video/Alliance Atlantis: The Adventures of Pinocchio, Pulp Fiction, eXistenz, Shakespeare in Love, Austin Powers, and Barbie and the Nutcracker

2nd Bumper
(March 4, 2002-Mid 2009)

Nicknames: "The Devil of Anti-Piracy II", "The Pirates are out to get you"

Bumper: We start off with a scene where a man is seen heating something in a fire. The camera then changes its angle to point at the fire, and what is heating is removed by the man. The camera then suddenly changes angles again to show us that he had been frying an X all along. He shows a flaming red X to us. The camera then suddenly again changes angles to reveal a treasury of videocassettes. The camera then suddenly changes again to the flaming red X as the man moves it away from the camera. The camera then suddenly changes to the treasury of videocassettes which now has the flaming red X with it's fork attached to it dropping on it. Then, there is a very large explosion, which dies down to reveal the treasury of videocassettes now destroyed. We then fade to a view of the man himself grinning with the camera, which zooms in suddenly. The camera then suddenly changes to another view of the fire, which is now frying another flaming red X. The camera suddenly changes to a view of the man, who is removing the flaming red X and setting it someplace else. Then the camera zooms right, there is another very large explosion, which dies down to reveal a stash of compact discs now destroyed. The camera then again suddenly changes to another view of the man with flames reflecting in his eyes, and another sudden zoom in. The camera then suddenly changes again, and the scene before the first explosion plays. There is then a third very large explosion, which dies down to reveal a stash of other things now destroyed. We then fade into a view of a water bucket with the camera. The flaming red X is placed in that bucket of water, and suddenly, a huge amount of steam comes pouring out from the bucket. The flaming red X is removed to reveal that it had been changed to what appears to be the software symbol. The software symbol is then moved away from the water bucket, in which the camera then suddenly changes to another view. Once the software symbol is in a comfortable spot, it then turns white and lights itself on fire. The background then burns up to reveal a white background, the software symbol changes colours from white to sky blue, and two pieces of filmstrip come in from the left and right sides of the screen (one on the left and one on the right) The one on the left has the letters "F" and "A". The one on the right has the letter "T". The completed word zooms out, and the same letters, but in standard black and the normal "S" is added, appear above the word. Some more letters appear after the words to reveal the phrase "FEDERATION AGAINST SOFTWARE THEFT". "HOTLINE" then appears below the word "FAST" in the same colour as the software symbol. They both then move upward, and "HOTLINE" then turns yellow and lights itself on fire. "1-800-363-9166 (CAN)" and "08-992-9465 (FR)" then appears below "HOTLINE". A flame then appears at the bottom of the screen, wiping out the completed bumper. When the flame has finished wiping out the bumper, it itself then disappears off of the top of the screen.

Variants: FX/SFX: The man destroying many items with an X, then the fading in of the Hotline numbers, The flame wiping out the bumper.
 * On some tapes, it was stretched in 16:9 widescreen with black bars on top and bottom.
 * There is an alternative variant where the Canada hotline fade out as the smoke from the burning "HOTLINE" disappears. The "USFVSO (United States) Freecall 1 800 NO COPYS" fades in along with "MXFVSO (Mexico) Freecall 0800 275002" before the flame wipes out the bumper.
 * On DVDs, the quality is improved.

Music/Sounds/Voiceover: Some low scary music from FACT (Federation Against Copyright Theft) is playing in the background along with three explosions as a man with a teenage like accent saying "The pirates are out to get you. Don’t let them brand you with their mark. Piracy funds organised crime and will destroy our film and video industries. Piracy costs jobs and will destroy our music and publishing industries. Piracy funds terrorism and will destroy our development and your future family enjoyment. Don’t touch the hot stuff. Cool is copyright. Copyright is a matter of fast" Then after the BBC News counts to 0 sound, a different man says "If you have any knowledge about the manufacture sale or counterfeit videos or related software, please call our Canada Hotline on on 1-8 hundred-double 31-91 double 6 or in France, 08-double 92-9465. Your support can end the distribution of poor quality products" Then the same man with the teenage like accent continues "Don't let the pirates burn a hole in your pocket" as the explosion sets off as the flame wipes out the bumper.

Music/Sounds/Voiceover Variant: On the variant with the US/Mexico hotlines, the high pitch of FACT anti piracy warning plays, the voiceover continues "In US, you should call the US Film and Video Security Office on 18 hundred No Copys or for Mexico, the Mexico Film and Video Security Office on 08 hundred 275 double 02. Your support will help end the distribution of poor quality products."

Availability: Very common for the time. Seen on either the beginning or at the end of VHS tapes/DVDs in the Canada, US and Mexico. This can be seen on many releases by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, Universal Studios Home Entertainment, DreamWorks Home Entertainment, Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment, Warner Home Video, Walt Disney Home Entertainment, Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Alliance Atlantis/Alliance, MGM Home Entertainment, Maple Pictures, and other home video companies. Final Note: When FAST stop using PIFs in 2009, FAST later use regular Anti Piracy ads the same year: "Thank You 2".
 * 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment: Moulin Rouge! (first appearance), Like Mike, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Just Married, Phone Booth, Say It Isn't So, Daredevil, later The X-Files videos, The Simpsons videos, Minority Report, Solaris, Behind Enemy Lines, Don't Say a Word, Joe Somebody, X2 - X-Men United, 28 Days Later, Action Man: Storm Front, Talk to Her, Thunderpants, Buffalo Soldiers, Dog Soldiers, Bulletproof Monk, Resident Evil, The Score, Jeepers Creepers 2
 * Universal Studios Home Entertainment: The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, Slap Her, She's French!, Johnny English, Love Actually, Peter Pan (2003), 2 Fast 2 Furious, Shaun of the Dead, later Maisy videos, later Blue's Room videos, Teletubbies videos, Butt Ugly Martians videos (DVD Only), 8 Mile, Hulk, Battlestar Galactica (2003), Peter Kay's Special Kay (DVD Only)
 * DreamWorks Home Entertainment: The Terminal, Shrek 2, The Tuxedo, The Ring, The Cat in the Hat, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Road Trip: Unseen
 * Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment: Spider-Man 2, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, National Security, Hellboy, 13 Going on 30, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, xXx, Gothika, Mona Lisa Smile, Bad Boys II, Daddy Day Care, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, L4yer Cake, Starship Troopers II: Hero of the Federation, S.W.A.T., Monty Python's Life of Brian, Monty Python and the Holy Grail
 * Warner Home Video/Prism Leisure: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Ocean's Eleven, Showtime, Scooby-Doo: The Movie, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, Troy, Catwoman, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Askaban, Spartan, Eight Legged Freaks, Murder by Numbers, Cradle 2: The Grave, Queen of the Damned, Somebody's Gotta Give, Kangaroo Jack, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, The Powerpuff Girls Movie, Looney Tunes: Back in Action, The Majestic, The Challenge, The Matrix Revolutions, Blood Work, Ghost Ship, Training Day, Torque, Juwanna Mann, Looney Tunes: All Stars Volume 2, Friends videos and Donnie Darko (DVD Only)
 * Walt Disney Home Entertainment: Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, Snow Dogs, George of the Jungle 2, The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, The Lizzie McGuire Movie
 * Buena Vista Home Entertainment: Veronica Guerin, Bruce Almighty, Signs, King Arthur, The Ladykillers, Shanghai Knights, Starsky & Hutch, Chicago, The Others, Bringing Down the House, The Count of Monte Cristo, Seabiscuit, Calendar Girls, The Recruit, The Royal Tenebaums, The Village
 * MGM Home Entertainment: Legally Blonde, Legally Blonde 2, Good Boy!, The Merchant of Venice, Bandits, Die Another Day, Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London
 * Alliance Atlantis/Alliance: Sweet Sixteen (2002), And Your Mother Too, Whale Rider, Anita & Me, Swimfan, We Were Soldiers, Basic, Kill Bill: Volume 1, Kill Bill: Volume 2, Finding Neverland, Austin Powers: Goldmember, Barbie as Rapunzel, Son of the Mask, Monster-In-Law, Spy Kids 2, Scary Movie 3, Derailed, Arthur and the Invisibles, Clerks 2, Zoboomafoo 2: Zobooland, Zoboomafoo 3, Hoodwinked, and The Nanny Diaries
 * Maple Pictures: Bend it Like Beckham, Cabin Fever, Welcome to Collinwood, The Hunted, The Big Kahuna, Agent Cody Banks, and Weeds videos