Day 054 - 24 Nov 94 - Page 18

     
     1   Q.   But is there any particular vice in the method of appeal
     2        that you are aiming at?
     3        A.  I do not know whether I would use the word "vice".
     4        I think it is a legitimate concern to raise questions about
     5        some of these techniques, and to ask whether they can be
     6        deemed to be fair; whether a technique may, for example,
     7        exploit the child in some way.  This is a matter for the
     8        regulatory bodies, for society more generally to decide.
     9        Other countries have different standards.  Some countries
    10        have decided that they do not wish to have advertising
    11        messages on television to children.
    12
    13        The current situation in the UK is that it is permitted.
    14        There are restrictions on some forms of advertising to
    15        children.  But I believe there is a very grey area in the
    16        middle which one could argue the case that, perhaps, some
    17        of these techniques are too exploitative.  Other people may
    18        see it differently, but I believe that it is an area for
    19        legitimate debate.  I am not certain that I have fully
    20        answered your question?
    21
    22   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  No, I understand.  We have had mastering
    23        skills, social acceptability, seeking to draw children into
    24        McDonald's world, making it part of their everyday life,
    25        collectability and the cache of a brand; are there other
    26        things?
    27        A.  Yes.  I wanted to say a bit more about the adverts
    28        which use collectables.  Kids do love to collect things and
    29        McDonald's have recognised this, and with their Happy Meals
    30        provide a range of collectables.  Now, I do not know to
    31        what extent the adverts I saw were the full range, but they
    32        were certainly a very extensive range of different kinds of
    33        collectables that children can get with their Happy Meals.
    34        These include Little Mermaid characters; Funny Fry Friends;
    35        gardening tools and seeds; connector cars; Barbi dolls;
    36        Sports Buddies; a range of Euro-Disney collectables; Mighty
    37        Mini's; toy cars; Playdough; McRobots; one that was
    38        featured at Christmas was free Christmas decorations and an
    39        advent calendar.  With all of these there are typically
    40        four to collect, a different one each week.
    41
    42   MS. STEEL:   So what are the concerns about that then?
    43        A.  My concern from viewing the advertisements is that
    44        children are being encouraged to buy a McDonald's product
    45        not for the McDonald's product but for the toy, or to ask
    46        their parents to buy the McDonald's product, because they
    47        want the toy.
    48
    49   Q.   There is a different one each week; is that an additional
    50        concern? 
    51        A.  Well, certainly if a parent collects -- has gone and 
    52        taken their child one week, the chances are their child 
    53        will want to go back the next three weeks to collect the
    54        full set.  I think that it is also quite difficult to tell
    55        whether these are free gifts.  I think the way they are
    56        portrayed and the emphasis is placed on them could give the
    57        impression they are free but, in fact, they are not.
    58        Different advertisements seem to either say that the price
    59        of a Happy Meal included the free gift -- sorry, it does
    60        not say "free gift", the collectable, or that an additional