Day 048 - 08 Nov 94 - Page 39

     
     1   MS. STEEL:  You have got a new menu item, have you not, called
     2        the Mega Mac?
     3        A.  That is on the menu, yes.
     4
     5   Q.   And that is now being advertised, is not it?
     6        A.  It is at restaurant level, yes.
     7
     8   Q.   And on the Underground, as well?
     9        A.  Yes; locally, yes.
    10
    11   Q.   Is it being advertised anywhere else at the moment?
    12        A.  Not that I am aware of, unless it is being done
    13        locally; but not on television.
    14
    15   Q.   Are you aware of plans to advertise it anywhere else?
    16        A.  Same response.  There might be plans locally that I am
    17        not aware of.  We do not currently have anything, again,
    18        that I am aware of, to put it on television.
    19
    20   Q.   In the promotion of this product -- well, was there any
         discussion about what the company was trying to achieve by
    22        introducing this new product?
    23        A.  There has been a latent demand from a number of our
    24        customers that we should have a larger sandwich product.
    25
    26   Q.   Larger than the Big Mac?
    27        A.  Larger than the Big Mac.
    28
    29   Q.   So if this is something that people are asking for, what is
    30        the need of advertising it on the Underground?
    31        A.  Well, because there is an element of the public; when
    32        everyone does research and gets feedback, you get a view
    33        from people that there may be an opportunity here to
    34        develop this product.
    35
    36   Q.   To widen the market for it?
    37        A.  Basically, what it does -- without getting too much
    38        into the competitive detail of it -- one of our major
    39        competitors has been making an effort to sell larger
    40        sandwiches, and we were having some feedback from our
         customers that we should be looking at that area, and this
    42        was put out as a test to see whether it was appropriate or
    43        not.  It is, in some sense, an anti-competitive thing to
    44        other competitors.
    45
    46   MR. MORRIS:  I have one question, going back to the figures over
    47        the last few years on advertising, if you just remember, to
    48        clear something up.  This downward trend in the expenditure
    49        on children's advertising, you said something about when
    50        you first start off establishing yourself, that is when the 
    51        concentration on children's advertising is greatest; yes? 
    52        A.  I said that we have gone into new regions with 
    53        children's advertising first, yes.
    54
    55   Q.   Does that downward trend start from that time and continue
    56        now?  I do not know why Mr. Rampton is shaking his head.
    57        Does that downward trend continue, and is it likely to
    58        continue?  Is that a general graph up to now, and will that
    59        downward trend continue, in other words, that children's
    60        advertising -- has it reached its level now, or will it