Day 047 - 07 Nov 94 - Page 57

     
     1        marketing tool that should be used wisely to build customer
     2        loyalty and sales for you."
     3             Now, ronald mcdonald, the plaintiffs have said, is not
     4        used for selling food. You have seen the advertisements,
     5        yes?
     6        A.  Yes.
     7
     8   Q.   So is this an area of concern where the plaintiffs are
     9        building loyalty to an adult figure, a fictitious adult
    10        figure which on the grounds that they are not actually
    11        selling food. It is just, you know, a benevolent figure in
    12        advertisement but in fact, they are using that figure to
    13        build customer loyalty, children's loyalty specifically, in
    14        order to increase sales. Do you see what I am saying?  It
    15        is than unusual advertising.
    16        A.  I do not feel that this conflicts with the requirement
    17        of the ITC code which says no adverts may imply unless
    18        children do so and so they will be failing in some duty or
    19        lacking in loyalty. So I think it would be a question of
    20        how an advertisement made that point. I can certainly see
         theoretically it might be done in a way which said if you
    22        let Ronald down then so and so, but merely to encourage
    23        loyalty does not seem to me to be conflicting the
    24        provisions of the code.
    25
    26   Q.   But in the first part of the code, section one when it
    27        talks about natural credulity and sense of loyalty for
    28        children?
    29        A.  Yes, it says one must not take charge of it.
    30
    31   Q.   Yes, I understand you said the way this is done is the most
    32        important way, but you can see there that there could be a
    33        problem that it was not done responsibly?
    34        A.  Yes, there could be, but remember all the commercials
    35        have been pre vetted and somebody has judged that these
    36        fall within the requirements of the code.
    37
    38   Q.   So, what would an advertiser in that situation where it is
    39        promoting a particular benevolent figure which in fact is
    40        there to get the children to want the food, what would they
         have to do to transgress the code in point one or may
    42        transgress? Is there some phrase.
    43
    44   MR. JUSTICE BELL: Well, do not let Ronald down. Come to
    45        McDonalds?
    46        A.  Yes, that would be the kind of thing that I think would
    47        certainly...
    48
    49   MR. JUSTICE BELL: Or if there is an advertisement on local
    50        television which said Ronald was coming to our local town 
    51        or restaurant and it said do not let Ronald down, come and 
    52        see him at the store, these may not be practical examples 
    53        but would you that fall foul?
    54        A.  I would expect so.
    55
    56   MR. MORRIS: More, that would be using children's natural
    57        credulity and sense of loyalty to basically con them.
    58        A.  It would be suggesting that if they did not they would
    59        be lacking in loyalty.
    60