Day 024 - 15 Sep 94 - Page 40
1 its nutritional value. This advertising programme is
2 designed to get the facts out and to neutralise the junk
3 food misconceptions about McDonald's good food. This
4 effort represents a long-term commitment beginning with a
5 year-long advertising schedule in 1987."
6
7 What does the middle sentence suggest to you?
8 A. Well, it provides further support for the conclusion
9 in the April 24 letter, that McDonald's was intentionally
10 setting about to convince people that, in fact, their food
11 is nutritious -- and nutritious as I am using it, that it
12 was good food.
13
14 Q. As opposed to?
15 A. As opposed to junk food or as opposed to food that was
16 nutritionally deleterious, food that was, in fact, high in
17 the various nutrients that one should avoid, such as
18 sodium, cholesterol and saturated fat.
19
20 Q. Going on to the section under "Creative. The ads focus on
21 key timely nutritional subjects like cholesterol, sodium
22 and calcium as well as the importance of a balance
23 diet." The subjects referred to, cholesterol, sodium and
24 calcium, in the balanced diet, they were something that
25 was of public concern at the time; is that right?
26 A. And it was (and it still is); the cholesterol and
27 sodium are two of the negative aspects of a diet that
28 I have mentioned earlier that one should, in fact, avoid.
29 Calcium was of particular interest to people who were
30 concerned about either foetal development or bone
31 strength. There was a great deal (and still is a great
32 deal) of advertising, promoting products as being a good
33 source of calcium -- some truthful, some not.
34
35 Q. If you turn to page 102, having studied, sort of, consumer
36 views and opinions, what impression do you think that the
37 average consumer would get from this advertisement?
38 A. I remember specifically when I first saw this, the
39 balance ad, it struck me as somewhat humorous that what
40 McDonald's was saying is that its foods would stack up in
41 a way so that they would not fall over and that they did
42 balance. What McDonald's is conveying through this
43 advertisement is that you can eat a balanced diet at
44 McDonald's.
45
46 It is an implicit representation, to be sure, but the only
47 products that are shown here are McDonald's products
48 balanced one on top of another. That is the impression
49 that is being conveyed. I suspect it is the intention of
50 McDonald's to so convey it. Whether it was their
51 intention or not, it is a matter of law, if that is the
52 impression that people take away from reading the ad, and
53 it is a deceptive impression, then McDonald's is liable
54 for that.
55
56 Q. So, you view that advert as being deceptive?
57 A. Yes, not only in that respect, but yes.
58
59 MR. JUSTICE BELL: If you do prosecute a company for what you
60 allege to be misleading advertisement or information, how
