Day 047 - 07 Nov 94 - Page 10

     
     1        particularly valuable when you have got companies who sell
     2        and advertise in many countries, because they may be
     3        dealing with different national codes or laws; they have to
     4        follow those.  But they also have their own standards,
     5        their own criteria on what they regard as being appropriate
     6        to their market.  I have seen the McDonald's----
     7
     8   Q.   I was going to ask you that.
     9        A.  So, to come back to your question:  yes, I believe that
    10        the McDonald's advertisements are as responsible and as
    11        sensitive to the interests of children and parents as
    12        anyone's.
    13
    14   Q.   When you looked at the code, the McDonald's code, the
    15        Golden Arches?
    16        A.  Yes.
    17
    18   Q.   You have seen the advertisements.  Do you have any comment
    19        to make about the use of what I might call characters to
    20        represent, either directly or less directly, items of food,
         such as the McNuggets, and people like that?
    22        A.  I think it is true to say that cartoon characters or
    23        fantasy characters are among the first things that children
    24        see when they can focus on the television screen.  So they
    25        are pretty well used to the idea of fantasy characters or
    26        cartoon characters; and I think that in the McDonald's
    27        context, that comes safely in the middle of the road.  I
    28        see no problems with those particular characters.
    29
    30   Q.   As a generality, do you know of any evidence to suggest
    31        that a child, even a young child, is apt to confuse the
    32        sort of fantasy created by those figures with the reality
    33        of the product itself when the time for consumption
    34        arrives?
    35        A.  I am not aware of anything that shows that.  Certainly,
    36        small children may find it a little difficult to
    37        distinguish fact from fantasy, but that aspect is
    38        recognised and taken care of in the codes.
    39
    40        But to take the particular context which you suggest, no, I
         am not aware of anything which suggests that that is a
    42        particular problem.
    43
    44   Q.   I am going to ask a question to which I do not know the
    45        answer, Mr. Miles -- forgive me.  Do you have any children
    46        of your own?
    47        A.  Yes, I have two children.
    48
    49   MR. JUSTICE BELL: It is some time since they were
    50        teenagers---- 
    51        A.  And four grandchildren. 
    52 
    53   MR. RAMPTON:  I am sorry.  I missed it.
    54        A.  Two children and four grandchildren.
    55
    56   MR. RAMPTON: Can I start with the children?  I assume,
    57        therefore, it is some time since they were small children?
    58        A.  Yes.
    59
    60   Q.   Was there television advertising when they were small?