Day 043 - 01 Nov 94 - Page 64
1
2 Q. Yes, but in what way was it a controversial issue?
3 A. Because it had been a very frustrating thing for
4 McDonald's to hear people talk and criticise within this
5 nature. We wanted to make sure that our response was as
6 perfect as it possibly could be within an advertising
7 context, obviously.
8
9 Q. It was not that you thought you would be on dangerous
10 ground if there was any suggestion that McDonald's food was
11 healthy in the sense of positively improving your prospects
12 of good health?
13 A. I think, at least from my perspective, we would be on
14 dangerous ground if we said something that was not right or
15 correct, yes. And because this was a controversial issue,
16 I think that is why we spent the time and energy about it.
17
18 MR. RAMPTON: I may, if I will, follow that up? One notices
19 from the beginning of the document which we have read that
20 this campaign appears to have been in some sense a response
21 to criticism that McDonald's food was junk food -- whatever
22 that may mean -- it probably means unhealthy food, does it,
23 junk food?
24 A. Well, certainly, the word is used to say that it is
25 unhealthy or to give that kind of connotation.
26
27 Q. Was that at that time an issue in the United States?
28 A. I think it is a growing issue, has been a growing
29 issue, in the United States for a considerable amount of
30 time. It sort of comes and goes, but it certainly was a
31 growing issue at that time.
32
33 Q. There was a complaint -- I do not need you to look at it,
34 I can remind you; there is no dispute about it -- there
35 were really four complaints; one was that the campaign was
36 apt to suggest that McDonald's food was nutritious, do you
37 remember that, overall? The second was -- the last three
38 complaints were directed at specific parts of the
39 advertisement; one was the cholesterol advertisement, one
40 was the salt advertisement and one was the milk shake
41 advertisement. Mr. Horwitz has dealt with those and I am
42 not going to ask you to look at those again, but I would
43 like to ask you about the first one. Do you recollect at
44 the time what your response was to the suggestion that it
45 was misleading to imply that McDonald's food was
46 nutritious?
47 A. My own personal response ---
48
49 Q. Yes.
50 A. -- is that this was not true, McDonald's food is
51 nutritious.
52
53 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I think we should know what Mr. Green means
54 by "nutritious" in the light of previous evidence we have
55 had.
56
57 MR. RAMPTON: Yes.
58 A. From my perspective, from a layman's perspective, it
59 provides nourishment, it provides nutrients and can be part
60 of a healthy balanced diet.
