Day 044 - 02 Nov 94 - Page 52


     
     1        not discussed in the meetings that I attended in the United
     2        States.
     3
     4   Q.   Right.  So, in other words, if the law of a country does
     5        not specifically outlaw the exploitation of the loneliness
     6        of a child, then McDonald's would be quite happy to use
     7        those techniques in other countries?
     8        A.  That is not true at all.  That is not what I said.
     9        I said the conferences I attended did not discuss these
    10        kinds of matters.  There may have been other conferences
    11        which I did not attend, but the ones I did attend did not
    12        discuss them.
    13
    14   Q.   Is McDonald's open to criticism?
    15        A.  Absolutely.
    16
    17   Q.   And would take criticism seriously?
    18        A.  Yes, they do.
    19
    20   Q.   Here you have something which obviously strikes at the
    21        heart which has been admitted (so there is no doubt about
    22        this), strikes at the absolute core -----
    23
    24   MR. RAMPTON:  Hang on.
    25
    26   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Let him just finish the question, Mr.
    27        Rampton.
    28
    29   MR. RAMPTON:  My Lord, no.   It is a question of what has been
    30        admitted.  The witness should not be mislead.
    31
    32   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Remind us of that.
    33
    34   MR. RAMPTON:  What has been admitted is what the authority
    35        found.
    36
    37   MR. MORRIS:  Yes, all right.  The authority found that "in or
    38        around April 1990 a court in Finland banned a McDonald's
    39        television advertisement.  It stated that it exploited the
    40        loneliness of a child and could give the impression that
    41        McDonald's products can replace friends or lessen
    42        loneliness, and the advertisement showed a boy unhappily
    43        surveying what was to be his new home, and his despair
    44        turning to joy when he saw McDonald's across the street."
    45
    46        Here we have some fairly strong criticism of something
    47        which would be absolutely central to the sort of concerns
    48        you have, yes, what you put in your ads directed at
    49        children; is that correct?
    50        A.  It certainly would be a concern. 
    51 
    52   Q.   Yes.  I think this comes under the definition of a "magic 
    53        moment", an important moment in a child's life, is that
    54        correct, a new home and being unhappy and McDonald's
    55        providing happiness?
    56        A.  Certainly.
    57
    58   Q.   Is that all?
    59        A.  I would call it an important moment, but again I have
    60        not seen the commercial.

Prev Next Index