Day 012 - 18 Jul 94 - Page 43


     
     1        California Attorney General calls the distribution of the
              booklets ' a service'.  These booklets are an integral
     2        part of the overall campaign to which your letter
              indiscriminately objects.  Indeed, one of the key
     3        functions of the advertisements is to urge consumers to
              ask for the booklets.  Your letter fails even to
     4        acknowledge this important point, let alone to identify
              the differences between the booklets and the
     5        advertisements that could possibly account for the
              commendation of the one and the condemnation of the
     6        other.
 
     7        2.  The Company's Intent
 
     8        Your letter asserts that McDonald's acted with an intent
              to deceive consumers.  That claim is totally unfounded and
     9        irresponsible.  Beginning last summer, in the course of
              numerous conversations with your office about the
    10        disclosure of ingredient and nutrition information, your
              staff urged McDonald's to go beyond the booklet and
    11        advertise on this subject".  Is that a true statement so
              far as you know, Mr. Horwitz?
    12        A.  That is correct.  They, to some extent, were trying to
              pick up the ball from New York and jump on New York's coat
    13        tails; yes, that is my recollection.
 
    14   Q.   Did they say to you, "Look, why don't you go beyond the
              booklet and do some advertisements on this topic"?
    15        A.  That is my recollection.
 
    16   Q.  "That is precisely what the company has done.  The
              company's purpose was to get the facts out and raise the
    17        level of consumer awareness about the food McDonald's
              serves, and about nutrition generally.
    18
              3. Your Specific Allegations
    19
              Out of eight separate advertisements made up of several
    20        thousand words of copy, your letter questions barely a
              dozen words from three separate advertisements.  None of
    21        these allegations has any foundation.
 
    22        Your letter objects to the statement, appearing in only
              one of the advertisements, that 'our sodium is down across
    23        the menu', on the grounds that sodium is not down in all
              of McDonald's products.  McDonald's has not claimed that
    24        it is.  The company has reduced sodium in products across
              the entire spectrum of its menu and that is precisely what
    25        the advertisement indicates".
  
    26        Then can we go to the footnote, which is the asterisk at 
              the bottom of the page:  "The company has reduced the salt 
    27        in its pickles, which reduces sodium in most of its basic
              hamburger products".  How does that work?
    28        A.  Because pickles are on all of our hamburgers products
              and others.
    29
         Q.   If I eat a hamburger with pickles in it I get salt?
    30        A.  That is correct.
 

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