Day 006 - 05 Jul 94 - Page 34
1 that ronald mcdonald's is there to encourage children to
want to go to McDonald's so their parent will spend money
2 in McDonald's. Is there any difficulty about that?
A. No, sir. I do not have any problem with that per se,
3 other than the statement was made he sells- it was implied
that he sells things. He himself has never been a sales
4 person. He represents an image; he represents a fun
character, but he is not directly a salesman a la -- what
5 is another character -- Tony the tiger on the cereal box,
who basically says: "Hey, kids, they are great", implying
6 you should buy them -- Ronald has never been used that
way.
7
MISS STEEL: Ronald has never said anything about your food
8 being great?
A. I do not think so.
9
Q. Or about the experience being great?
10 A. I think he has been shown having a good time in
McDonald's, yes. Ultimately, regardless what he may say
11 about the food, this has been our opinion all along;
ultimately, whatever he says about the food, people have
12 to like it or they do not come back.
13 Q. So you would agree that ronald mcdonald's is a useful
marketing tool?
14 A. Would agree to that, yes.
15 Q. He is a marketing tool directed at children?
A. It is directed at children and their families.
16
Q. Do you not consider it to be cynical exploitation of
17 children to use ronald mcdonald, a well known clown, to
drum up business for your company?
18 A. No.
19 MR. MORRIS: This ronald mcdonald's character, the clown, he is
not involved in the promotion of- you say he is not
20 directly saying, "Come in and buy"- you are saying he is
something more than that.
21 A. It may cover that in an indirect way but it is
certainly is not- I have never seen a McDonald's ad
22 involving Ronald where he ever said, "Come buy this."
23 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Are you going to achieve any more than Miss
Steel has achieved?
24
MR. MORRIS: Maybe. I want to ask one question. Is there more
25 than one ronald mcdonald in this country?
A. Yes, there is- well, historically there has been one
26 used on television, just one.
27 MR. JUSTICE BELL: You mean one actor?
A. One actor used for television. There may be 6 or 7
28 involved in personal appearances around the country.
29 MR. MORRIS: So the one that is on television, he is the main
one or something?
30 A. As I said, historically in Britain we have used one
actor playing the parts of ronald mcdonald on television.
