Day 042 - 31 Oct 94 - Page 16


     
     1        A.  I do not.
     2
     3   MS. STEEL:   You said yesterday (sic) that advertising is
     4        considered to be a key element of free speech in this
     5        country.  Who considers it to be?
     6        A.  Well, certainly -- this is me talking -- certainly,
     7        when I was at college and we were talking about democracies
     8        and what are indications of democracies, then free speech
     9        is often seen, or advertising is often seen to be one kind
    10        of measure of a country's ability to have free speech.
    11
    12   Q.   Considered by whom, though:  by the advertisers, by the
    13        companies?
    14        A.  No, no.  By academics; just in general, not in terms
    15        of-----
    16
    17   Q.   You are not aware of any surveys on the general public?
    18        A.  I am not aware of any surveys on the general public,
    19        no.
    20
    21   Q.   Does the Advertising Standards Authority agree with that?
    22        A.  I have no idea.
    23
    24   MR. MORRIS:  Is it not a fact that their job is actually to
    25        suppress adverts that are misleading?
    26        A.  Yes.  Their job is to ensure that all advertising is
    27        honest, legal and decent.
    28
    29   MS. STEEL:   You mentioned yesterday about ads being
    30        "self-regulated".  What does that mean?
    31        A.  It means that the ITC is an independent body whose job
    32        it is to lay down the rules and guidelines to advertisers
    33        and then apply them.
    34
    35   Q.   How is that self-regulation?
    36        A.  Because the rules and regulations in there, to my
    37        knowledge, are not government imposed.  They are
    38        procedures, standard procedures, that have been drawn up
    39        and, therefore, regulated by this body independently.
    40
    41   Q.   Who are the ITC, then?
    42        A.  They are the -- I think it is short for the Independent
    43        Television Companies, I believe.
    44
    45   Q.   So it is made of up of television companies?
    46        A.  They set up a panel of different people.  I am not sure
    47        who makes up the panel, but they are separate from the
    48        major advertisers themselves, and they would sit down and
    49        vet the commercials through the BACC.
    50 
    51   Q.   Do you know how often they take action to prevent 
    52        advertisements going out? 
    53        A.  I do not know, no.
    54
    55   Q.   Do you know of any instances at all where they stopped
    56        advertisements going out?
    57        A.  What, from other people?
    58
    59   Q.   Either from McDonald's or from other----
    60        A.  Yes.  I am sure they have in their history.  I cannot

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