Day 047 - 07 Nov 94 - Page 12

     
     1                     Cross-examined by the DEFENDANTS
     2
     3   MS. STEEL:  Just to clarify a few things about the Incorporated
     4        Society of British Advertisers, is it fair to say that it
     5        is a trade association?
     6        A.  Yes.
     7
     8   Q.   Promoting the interests of its commercial members?
     9        A.  Yes.
    10
    11   Q.   Is that how it receives its funding?
    12        A.  Yes.
    13
    14   Q.   Is McDonald's a member of that?
    15        A.  Yes.
    16
    17   Q.   So they contribute to your funds?
    18        A.  Yes.
    19
    20   Q.   What exactly is the purpose of the ISBA?
         A.  To look after the interests of its member companies,
    22        both short term and long term.  I refer you to the comments
    23        I made earlier this morning.  We help companies to make
    24        sure that the things they do are done as cost effectively
    25        as possible but, also, that the things that they do and
    26        want to do are understood by government, by officials, by
    27        opinion formers, by all the other people who have an
    28        influence on the way industry works in this country.
    29
    30   Q.   I am not quite sure what exactly is included in "the things
    31        they want to do".  Are you talking just about advertising
    32        or are you talking about----
    33        A.  I am talking about advertising and the related forms of
    34        publicity, if I can use the word "advertising" as a kind of
    35        shorthand to cover sponsorship and sales promotion and the
    36        other things.  Yes, our role is limited to that area.
    37
    38        For other aspects of company activities, they may well
    39        belong to other associations. They will belong to the CBI,
    40        perhaps; they will belong to the Food Manufacturers
         Federation or the British Retail Consortium, or different
    42        organisations of that kind.
    43
    44        But for anything relating to advertising and publicity
    45        issues, most companies will belong to my association.
    46
    47   Q.   So what kind of advice do you give to these companies?
    48        A.  It depends what specific advice they ask us for.  We
    49        are always available as an information resource on anything
    50        that is developing in the advertising business; and codes 
    51        and standards of behaviour in advertising are certainly a 
    52        part of that. 
    53
    54        The majority of the questions that companies ask us to work
    55        on are related to cost, to cost effectiveness, how to buy
    56        this, how to make sure that they are not over charged in
    57        certain directions.  But we are concerned with the
    58        questions of advertising standards, which is the reason why
    59        I am a member of the Committee of Advertising Practice and
    60        the Advertising Advisory Committee of the ITC; to make sure