Day 037 - 14 Oct 94 - Page 46


     
     1
     2   Q.   So your concern for gimmickry is not the fact of the
     3        gimmickry but what it is being used to promote?
     4        A.  Quite so.
     5
     6   Q.   Are there any particular concerns about gimmickry in the
     7        case of children and nutrition?
     8        A.  Of course, I do.  I believe I refer to this a little
     9        later on, Mr. Kroc's autobiography.
    10
    11   Q.   We will come to that in a minute, but any particular
    12        concern about gimmickry and children?
    13        A.  When are you using -- shall we use a slightly less
    14        loaded term, perhaps, and say a sales promotional device?
    15        Whether it is a clown or a hat or a flag, or whatever else
    16        McDonald's are in the habit of using, I think one has to
    17        be very careful.  It is certainly true that you can do a
    18        lot more below the line than you can in terms of
    19        gimmickry, sales promotion devices, than you can above the
    20        line.
    21
    22   Q.   What do you mean by that?
    23        A.  Above the line is an advertising term which describes
    24        money that is spent mainly on advertising, straightforward
    25        media advertising.  Below the line is virtually
    26        everything, sales promotion, public relations and that
    27        sort of miscellaneous expenditure.
    28
    29        I am concerned that McDonald's do use sales promotion
    30        devices to sell to children which they probably could not
    31        do if they were using the same sort of device in their
    32        advertising, that is, above the line, because there are
    33        fairly stringent controls, particularly so far as
    34        television advertising is concerned, as to what you can
    35        do.
    36
    37        It is a few years, I must say, since I actually made
    38        television advertisements, but I have no reason to think
    39        the controls have been relaxed -- in fact, I suspect they
    40        have been tightened -- and any advertisement that seeks to
    41        influence, shall we say, that sought to influence a
    42        child's conduct so that it brought pressure to bear on its
    43        parents to behave in a certain way or to purchase a
    44        certain product would certainly be radically changed by
    45        the authorities who were responsible for previewing and
    46        prevetting television advertisements.  That is not
    47        something -----
    48
    49   Q.   Is that what is referred to as pester power?
    50        A.  Yes, that is a very good way of putting it actually, 
    51        yes. 
    52 
    53   Q.   Are you saying that the gimmickry below the line, as you
    54        put it ---
    55        A.  Yes.
    56
    57   Q.   -- can have that actual effect?
    58        A.  Yes, absolutely.  Anyone who is a parent knows that;
    59         "Daddy, take me to McDonald's; I can see the nice clown".
    60          It is that sort of reaction that I very much suspect as

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