Day 042 - 31 Oct 94 - Page 20
1 particular, are out shopping with their kids and the kids
2 see McDonald's and say that they want to go in there?
3 A. I cannot give you the frequency. You said: "Does that
4 happen frequently?" I do not know how often that happens.
5
6 Q. You said that 16 to 24 year-olds were your most frequent
7 users. Do you actually do any monitoring at all for under
8 16 year-olds?
9 A. We do have research that tells us how many parents
10 visit with children, but that is not as a result of
11 interviewing young children but as a result of interviewing
12 the adults.
13
14 Q. What about interviewing teenagers who might go on their
15 own?
16 A. That really comes under any work we do with 16
17 year-olds, 16 to 24 year-old group.
18
19 Q. So you do not actually ask questions of people who are
20 under 16 who are not with their parents?
21 A. Generally, no. They may be one or two ad hoc specific
22 research pieces we do for various reasons, but not
23 generally.
24
25 Q. So you would not actually be aware of that kind of age
26 group that was coming into McDonald's quite frequently?
27 A. What, the younger?
28
29 Q. Say people between the ages of 10 and 15?
30 A. From that perspective, we do not have a great deal of
31 research on them.
32
33 Q. How do you measure the effect of your advertisements on
34 children?
35 A. Generally, it is only through feedback that we get from
36 parents and looking at sales. We actually do not do a
37 great amount of research into the children's advertising in
38 this country.
39
40 Q. So if that is the case, how do you go about making the ads
41 appeal to children?
42 A. Well, I mean, over time, over many years, we have done
43 one or two pieces of research which have led to an
44 understanding of what children find appealing in
45 advertising. If you are really talking children's
46 advertising, then we are talking Ronald, yes? Is that the
47 area you are talking about?
48
49 Q. Right.
50 A. In that area, it is very much one of generally
51 appealing to the fun and excitement and the colourful,
52 simple story line type of approach to children. It is
53 something that our agencies would have had a fair bit of
54 experience in doing as a result of the work they have done
55 for us over the years.
56
57 Q. So that would be why you use, say, the characters; not just
58 Ronald, but all the others -- I do not know-----
59 A. That is part of the reason, yes.
60
