Day 300 - 14 Nov 96 - Page 10
1 true.
2
3 MS. STEEL: Obviously, that is our view. I don't know what the
4 legality on it is.
5
6 MR. JUSTICE BELL: The question about it must not be -- if
7 McDonald's are going to succeed, you have to read that in
8 first, if McDonald's are going to succeed they cannot
9 succeed on a meaning greater than, but they can certainly
10 lose on a meaning greater.
11
12 Do not take this as any indication of a view one way or
13 another, but it is in that spirit that I ask you to let us
14 look at it together and then if I miss something out -----
15
16 MS. STEEL: I am not trying to say -- I am quite happy that we
17 have fully justified our view that McDonald's are
18 deliberately exploiting children, so I do not have any fear
19 about it. I was just mentioning that point because I am
20 not really sure about the legalities of it, that is all.
21
22 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Do not worry. It would help me if I just
23 went through and identified the ones which might be, and
24 you can tell me whether there are more, and then in due
25 course Mr. Rampton will tell me if he thinks you are wrong
26 or if he thinks I am wrong. First of all, the amount of
27 advertising.
28
29 MS. STEEL: First of all, that they aim a considerable amount
30 of advertising at children.
31
32 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I have just put the amount of advertising
33 because query whether it matters whether it is nearly all
34 or an awful lot.
35
36 MS. STEEL: Secondly, that they portray going to McDonald's, or
37 portray McDonald's as a sort of fun event and use any
38 number of gimmicks to sort of portray this fun and happy
39 atmosphere and so on, in order to get the children there to
40 eat the food, rather than, you know, being more honest
41 about what they are trying to sell to the children, which
42 is the food.
43
44 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Right. I will just put down 'normality
45 trap'. That is just shorthand. It is not meant to be
46 being the odd one out, call it what you will.
47
48 MS. STEEL: There is the fact that they use advertising at all,
49 whether or not it is deceptive; the fact that they use
50 advertising at all to children, you know, especially
51 considering that they are impressionable and vulnerable to
52 that sort of persuasion.
53
54 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Just pause a moment. (Pause) Where do I get
55 that from the leaflet, apart from, as part of the normality
56 trap.
57
58 MS. STEEL: I mean, it is a general thing from the fact that
59 the leaflet criticises the advertising to children in
60 general. The very first sentence, for example.
