Day 054 - 24 Nov 94 - Page 16
1 A. The skill that was being demonstrated by the boy in the
2 advertisement was his football skills. He was shown to be
3 practising various skills.
4
5 Q. Keeping the ball in the air?
6 A. Yes.
7
8 MS. STEEL: What would be the effect of that kind of
9 advertisement on a child then?
10 A. This kind, this technique of showing children mastering
11 a skill has been shown to be an effective way to appeal to
12 children. Another theme which comes out from some of the
13 advertisements that I have seen is that of being socially
14 accepted.
15
16 Q. Can you explain a bit more about that then, please?
17 A. Yes. Children need and want to be accepted
18 particularly by their peers. Children often feel they want
19 to belong to a group. This can be of increasing importance
20 as they begin to separate from their parents.
21
22 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Have you got an example of that?
23 A. Yes, some examples: McDonald's often use children in
24 their advertisements, groups of children being together and
25 enjoying themselves. In one advertisement children had
26 been taught by ronald mcdonald to sing a new McDonald's
27 song; in others they are shown having fun with Ronald
28 McDonald; in one advertisement a large crowd of children is
29 welcoming ronald mcdonald.
30
31 MR. MORRIS: Is that the one with the balloon race?
32 A. Yes, it is, but it is the recurrent image of a group of
33 children, that is a particularly large group, a group of
34 children waving. There is one advertisement where they are
35 in the audience with ronald mcdonald in a pantomime scene.
36 There is another where the children are jumping up and down
37 in a party atmosphere outside McDonald's; phrases such as
38 "lots of fun for everyone".
39
40 MS. STEEL: What would that imply then?
41 A. The implication that children would want to be part of
42 that group of children who are seen to be enjoying
43 themselves, and the jingles -- as well as the visual images
44 that the jingles, very memorable jingles, have become
45 perhaps the modern nursery rhymes of the school
46 playground. Advertising jingles have a currency. Children
47 want to know and want to be able to recite the latest
48 jingles. If you can do that, then you may feel you are
49 being more popular with your friends if you are the one who
50 can come into the school playground with the latest jingle
51 or the latest catch phrase.
52
53 Q. They might think you are clever?
54 A. Indeed, that could be, yes, one of the effects. By
55 using this technique, I think the advertisements seek to
56 draw children in to the McDonald's world which is portrayed
57 as a very attractive, fun place to be. In addition, the
58 use of collectables (which I will come on to in a moment),
59 but again a child will want to have the collectables,
60 particularly if their friends have them; they are going to,
