Crossword Genius

Commercial has to avoid including director’s head (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

advert

'commercial' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'to avoid including director's head' is the wordplay.
'to avoid' becomes 'avert' ('avert' can be a synonym of 'avoid'**).
'including' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'head' says to take the initial letters.
The initial letter of 'directors' is 'd'.
'avert' enclosing 'd' is 'ADVERT'.

'has' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for advert that I've seen before include "Commercial notice" , "Draw attention to" , "Promotional display" , "Trailer" , "Promotional notice" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app