Day 042 - 31 Oct 94 - Page 17


     
     1        point to one particular example, because if they have not
     2        gone out I would not know, but-----
     3
     4   Q.   Are they fierce about ensuring that conditions comply with
     5        the guidelines, in your opinion?
     6        A.  Yes, they are.
     7
     8   Q.   You think they are?
     9        A.  I think they are, yes.
    10
    11   Q.   You mentioned on Friday about ads having a minimum effect
    12        in persuading someone who had already decided to go to the
    13        pub to instead go to McDonald's, and that you were not
    14        trying to take custom, as it were, from that area, from
    15        pubs and hotels; you were just competing with the fast-food
    16        market?
    17        A.  That is where we primarily compete, yes, in the
    18        fast-food market.
    19
    20   Q.   When you say "primarily", what do you mean by that?
    21        A.  That is how we go about targeting our advertising and
    22        our efforts; that is what we are really about.
    23
    24   Q.   Obviously, it is probably unlikely that someone who has
    25        already picked their place to go is going to sit down and
    26        watch advertisements because they might want to change
    27        their mind, or something like that, but would it not be
    28        fair to say that the purpose of your advertisements is that
    29        you want McDonald's to be on people's minds, so that when
    30        they think about having something to eat they are more
    31        likely to think about McDonald's?
    32        A.  Again, can I answer that in two sections?  The consumer
    33        that eats at a hotel or a pub or the Ritz may be the same
    34        consumer that also eats at McDonald's restaurants, or in
    35        any other quick service restaurant.  At different times,
    36        though, they have different needs and they want to do
    37        different things.  At the point that they have decided
    38        that, instead of -- not when they want to go to the Ritz,
    39        but at the point when they may be out shopping and they
    40        decide they want something to eat quickly, what quick
    41        service restaurants have to offer is something that they
    42        would wish to take up, then that is when we would like
    43        McDonald's to be their first top-of-mind thought.
    44
    45   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  That might well be in competition with a
    46        pub.  One of your ads was directed at how quickly, when you
    47        were short of time, you could get a meal at McDonald's.  If
    48        someone needs a quick lunch when they are out and about,
    49        that might be well be taken as reminding them that they can
    50        do it at McDonald's perhaps better than in a crowded pub 
    51        during the lunch hour; is that not so?  Is that not one of 
    52        the features? 
    53        A.  That particular train of thought could happen, yes, but
    54        once the thought of going to the pub -- if they actually
    55        want to go to the pub and that is their prime goal, then it
    56        is unlikely that our influence would affect that.  In terms
    57        of, if their overwhelming desire is to eat quickly, then
    58        that is something that we offer probably better than the
    59        pub or the hotel, or anywhere else.  So, yes, that is one
    60        of the key QSR attributes of McDonald's, and it sways the

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