Day 024 - 15 Sep 94 - Page 34


     
     1        says that they contain 'Wholesome milk, natural
     2        sweeteners, a fluid ounce of flavouring, and stabilisers
     3        for consistency.  And that's all.' In fact, that's not
     4        really all. McDonald's own ingredient booklet shows that
     5        this milkshake actually contains artificial flavor, sodium
     6        benzoate and sodium hexametaphosphate, two chemical
     7        preservatives. This ad doesn't tell the whole story.
     8
     9        3. The cholesterol ad emphasizes the relatively low (29
    10        milligram) cholesterol content of the regular hamburger,
    11        but doesn't even mention the saturated fat content, much
    12        more relevant to those with cause for concern about heart
    13        disease.
    14
    15        These are but a few examples.  The ad campaign continues
    16        in this overall vain, and has the tendency and capacity to
    17        deceive millions of McDonald's customers.
    18
    19        Copies of all ads used in this campaign are attached to
    20        this letter.  In order to prevent further action by our
    21        three offices, we require that McDonald's discontinue this
    22        advertising campaign, and cease and desist from future
    23        advertising which falsely or deceptively portrays
    24        McDonald's food as nutritious.
    25
    26        A copy of this letter is being sent to McDonald's
    27        advertising agency, the Leo Burnett Company, Inc.  Notice
    28        is hereby given to both McDonald's and to the Leo Burnett
    29        agency that future advertising of this nature will be
    30        considered to be a violation of the Texas Deceptive Trade
    31        Practices Act and as well as the relevant statutes of the
    32        states of California and New York.
    33
    34        Thank you for your immediate and responsible attention to
    35        this letter.  Jim Mattox, Attorney General of Texas."
    36
    37        This letter is linked to the previous matters that we were
    38        talking about on the front page of it, saying it is a
    39        "giant step backwards".  Why does it say that?
    40        A.  We had not required, but rather urged, in 1986 the
    41        companies to make their customers widely aware of the
    42        availability of these brochures in addition to just
    43        putting up a sign somewhere in the restaurant announcing
    44        it and having the brochures, in fact, on hand in the
    45        restaurants.  We suggested they might find ways to promote
    46        public awareness that the brochure was available.
    47
    48        We also felt that we had achieved considerable gain for
    49        the public when we obtained the agreement of McDonald's
    50        and the other companies to give the brochure out.  We felt 
    51        that people, consumers of fastfood, were for the first 
    52        time able to have access to the truth about what was in 
    53        these various products of the various chains, including
    54        McDonald's.
    55
    56        Therefore, when we saw that McDonald's had, essentially,
    57        turned that on its head, and was using and misusing the
    58        nutritional information in order to create a false
    59        impression of nutritiousness of its food, we then
    60        concluded that McDonald's had, indeed, taken a giant step

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