Day 042 - 31 Oct 94 - Page 17
1 point to one particular example, because if they have not
2 gone out I would not know, but-----
3
4 Q. Are they fierce about ensuring that conditions comply with
5 the guidelines, in your opinion?
6 A. Yes, they are.
7
8 Q. You think they are?
9 A. I think they are, yes.
10
11 Q. You mentioned on Friday about ads having a minimum effect
12 in persuading someone who had already decided to go to the
13 pub to instead go to McDonald's, and that you were not
14 trying to take custom, as it were, from that area, from
15 pubs and hotels; you were just competing with the fast-food
16 market?
17 A. That is where we primarily compete, yes, in the
18 fast-food market.
19
20 Q. When you say "primarily", what do you mean by that?
21 A. That is how we go about targeting our advertising and
22 our efforts; that is what we are really about.
23
24 Q. Obviously, it is probably unlikely that someone who has
25 already picked their place to go is going to sit down and
26 watch advertisements because they might want to change
27 their mind, or something like that, but would it not be
28 fair to say that the purpose of your advertisements is that
29 you want McDonald's to be on people's minds, so that when
30 they think about having something to eat they are more
31 likely to think about McDonald's?
32 A. Again, can I answer that in two sections? The consumer
33 that eats at a hotel or a pub or the Ritz may be the same
34 consumer that also eats at McDonald's restaurants, or in
35 any other quick service restaurant. At different times,
36 though, they have different needs and they want to do
37 different things. At the point that they have decided
38 that, instead of -- not when they want to go to the Ritz,
39 but at the point when they may be out shopping and they
40 decide they want something to eat quickly, what quick
41 service restaurants have to offer is something that they
42 would wish to take up, then that is when we would like
43 McDonald's to be their first top-of-mind thought.
44
45 MR. JUSTICE BELL: That might well be in competition with a
46 pub. One of your ads was directed at how quickly, when you
47 were short of time, you could get a meal at McDonald's. If
48 someone needs a quick lunch when they are out and about,
49 that might be well be taken as reminding them that they can
50 do it at McDonald's perhaps better than in a crowded pub
51 during the lunch hour; is that not so? Is that not one of
52 the features?
53 A. That particular train of thought could happen, yes, but
54 once the thought of going to the pub -- if they actually
55 want to go to the pub and that is their prime goal, then it
56 is unlikely that our influence would affect that. In terms
57 of, if their overwhelming desire is to eat quickly, then
58 that is something that we offer probably better than the
59 pub or the hotel, or anywhere else. So, yes, that is one
60 of the key QSR attributes of McDonald's, and it sways the
