Day 025 - 16 Sep 94 - Page 18
1 additional sources of fat, sodium and cholesterol, but the
2 minimum additional servings recommended.
3
4 That does not mean that you should stop with two servings
5 of low fat dairy products, four servings of fruits and
6 vegetables and one serving of protein, but merely that in
7 order to get the recommended minimum from the four basic
8 food groups that have not been supplied by McDonald's, you
9 must eat at a minimum these additional seven servings. It
10 does not say that you must not, having eaten at
11 McDonald's, have a product that contains any significant
12 amount of sodium or fat.
13
14 So, what they are saying here is not what I was saying,
15 except to the extent that it proves my point. McDonald's,
16 claiming to provide a balanced diet with their good food,
17 says that their good food will allow you to move fairly
18 far along the scale of the minimum recommendations from
19 the four basic food groups, without telling you that it
20 has also gotten you virtually over the halfway point on
21 the nutrients of fat and sodium that must be avoided in
22 the diet.
23
24 Q. You did see, did you -- perhaps I went over it too quickly
25 -- the left-hand column, "Seven keys to building a good
26 diet"? In the left-hand column: "Eat a variety of
27 foods. Maintain a desirable weight. Avoid too much fat,
28 saturated fat and cholesterol. Eat foods with adequate
29 starch and fibre. Avoid too much sugar. Avoid too much
30 sodium. If you drink alcoholic beverages, do so in
31 moderation", and so on and so forth.
32
33 Do you see that? This does form part of McDonald's own
34 advertisement, does it not?
35 A. The error of this advertisement is of the global
36 versus specific nature. I did see that, yes, sir. I also
37 recognised, I would not want to spend the court's time
38 (although I will, if you ask) going through, telling
39 whether I agree with each and every statement herein. But
40 assuming that each and every statement herein is and of
41 itself true, it goes to make my point that the
42 advertisement can, nonetheless, be deceptive because what
43 this advertisement -- first, in analysing an
44 advertisement, the first thing you do is to look at the
45 image, the body copy as the text of the advertisement, as
46 it is called, is really secondary to the impression that
47 is conveyed to the average consumer, especially the
48 consumer flipping through the magazine. These, I believe,
49 and if you would correct me if I am wrong, these pages
50 were in -- as appear in this booklet as they appeared in
51 magazines. This Balance at page 1 would be on page 36,
52 and this next page would be on page 38.
53
54 Looking at the image, the immediate impression conveyed,
55 especially to the idle browser through the magazine, all
56 we see is "McDonald's Food" and "Balance" on the first
57 page and "McDonald's good food" and "Balanced diet" on the
58 second.
59
60 Q. It is true to say, is it not, Mr. Gardner, you can go to
