Day 050 - 10 Nov 94 - Page 12

     
     1        A.  Yes.
     2
     3   Q.   So, presumably, that was not upheld because it was not felt
     4        to transgress any of the guidelines?
     5        A.  Also, because the way in which it appeared in the
     6        commercial was a normal way in which it would appear in
     7        life.  It was not an outstandingly -- it was not a glaring
     8        example of dangerous play.
     9
    10   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  He was not turning, as he went, swinging the
    11        ladder around?
    12        A.  He was merely walking along the pavement with the
    13        ladder, as one may see on any street any day.
    14
    15   MS. STEEL:  The point is, though, that different people have
    16        different views on what they consider safe and what is good
    17        to show in advertisements?
    18        A.  Certainly.
    19
    20   Q.   So the fact that the ITC does not adjudicate in their
         favour does not mean they do not necessarily have a valid
    22        viewpoint ---
    23        A.  Certainly.
    24
    25   MS. STEEL:   -- or that there are concerns about safety?
    26
    27   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  That must be obvious.  They have set the
    28        guidelines where they have, and some people in the country
    29        will be content with that and some will think they have not
    30        set them fierce enough?
    31        A.  Yes.
    32
    33   MR. MORRIS:  How many complaints have been upheld, validated,
    34        about safety matters?
    35        A.  I do not have a figure on that.  It would be a very
    36        small number, but it would be a subject that the ITC would
    37        take seriously.  If there was a complaint about safety that
    38        they thought was not a bizarre and improbable occurrence,
    39        then they would take it seriously.  If I may continue?
    40
    MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Let him finish.
    42
    43   THE WITNESS:   The points set out in the guidelines which you
    44        referred to earlier would be examples of those kinds of
    45        things.  They are not rulings.  They are not saying:  "You
    46        must never do this or that", but they are saying:  "This is
    47        the kind of thing to avoid in writing a script or shooting
    48        a film, because the chances are we will reject it."   So it
    49        is guidance to the people making the film.
    50 
    51   MR. MORRIS:  The public is concerned about safety and safety 
    52        issues being shown in advertising, yes, you would say? 
    53        A.  It is a subject which is rightly taken seriously.
    54
    55   Q.   Yes.  So the fact that there have been very few validated
    56        examples of complaints about safety matters is not evidence
    57        that the public is not concerned about the portrayal of
    58        safety issues in advertising?
    59        A.  I believe it to be evidence that the standards set and
    60        implemented through the pre-vetting the system work