The Interactive Advertising Bureau recommended on Thursday that publishers enforce insertion orders and hold advertisers accountable for purchased media when agencies are late in submitting creative, writes MediaPost. The IAB suggests that public service announcements or house ad be run until the creative is received - but advertisers still be held accountable.

The Late Creative provision is stated in the IAB/AAAAs Terms & Conditions and requires that online creative be delivered to publishers on time.

"Late creative is huge problem," IAB CEO Greg Stuart is quoted as saying. "When publishers and agencies used to traditional media standards encounter this type of behavior, they're typically shocked and turned off by the experience."

Top online publishers have said they intend to enforce the IAB's policy by summer. ABCNews.com, AOL, BusinessWeek Online, Forbes.com, MSN, MTV Networks, TVGuide.com, and Yahoo, among others, say they'll no longer put up with fluid deadlines.

The IAB also recommends that "prior to implementing this Late Creative policy, IAB members communicate the specifics of their policy directly to their individual clients in an effort to alert them to a change in T&Cs enforcement. In addition, IAB member companies should consider publishing their late creative policy as part of their standard policies."