Day 037 - 14 Oct 94 - Page 45


     
     1        think one meal is going to shorten my life expectancy.
     2
     3   MR. MORRIS:  I think that is very helpful, thank you.  I will
     4        not ask you about cravings or addictions.  I think that is
     5        a matter for either common sense or medical opinion.
     6        But as far as they serve in the Statement of Claim that --
     7        I will read out that point (8) "... sell food which is so
     8        high in sugar and sodium ... that people develop an
     9        addiction for it and thereby allowing the Plaintiffs to
    10        earn greater profit for themselves notwithstanding that it
    11        causes constipation, clogged arteries and heart attacks
    12        for many people which covers quite a huge ground".
    13
    14        You comment:  "As far as earning greater profits for
    15        themselves is concerned, I rather thought that this was
    16        the prime function of the Plaintiffs".
    17
    18        In your opinion, as a marketere, is this indeed the prime
    19        function of any company, or some companies more than
    20        others, or what is your opinion?
    21        A.  Well, companies have a whole variety of functions but
    22        this is almost universally one of their main functions, of
    23        course it is, because if they do not do this, then they
    24        simply will not be in business.
    25
    26   Q.   Is that what is called the "bottom line"?
    27        A.  The bottom line refers to the profitability of an
    28        enterprise, not necessarily the dividend that shareholders
    29        receive.  But if an enterprise is not profitable, then, of
    30        course, the shareholders in the normal course of events
    31        would not receive a dividend.
    32
    33   Q.   Do you have any comment on your point, item 6, by
    34        gimmickry in the Plaintiffs restaurant.  Leave aside the
    35        uniformity of their food, the gimmickry?
    36        A.  Yes, I mean, what I would say here (and I do not know
    37        if this is the right place to mention it) but I would like
    38        to mention at some point the way that they promote
    39        in-store, because this is an area that is of particular
    40        concern to me and certainly gimmicks are used there.
    41
    42        Now, is this a good point to mention my own journey to
    43        McDonald's a day or two ago when I encountered for the
    44        first time, I must say, the "Mega Mac"?
    45
    46   Q.   Is this relevant to gimmickry before we move on?
    47        A.  Gimmickry is an imprecise term; it may or may not be
    48        called gimmickry.
    49
    50   Q.   Are there any concerns about gimmickry which have as 
    51        regards marketing? 
    52        A.  I would say that, like advertising and like marketing, 
    53        the use of gimmicks -- it is going to be rather difficult
    54        to define precisely what is a gimmick and what is not; one
    55        man's gimmick is somebody else's sales promotion -- is,
    56        essentially, neutral and it really depends how you use
    57        them.  Simply to say that a client engages in gimmickry is
    58        not necessarily a stringent criticism of them at all.
    59        I think it depends how it is used and what the objective
    60        is for.

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