Day 042 - 31 Oct 94 - Page 51
1 not----
2 A. That is true.
3
4 Q. ----may not realise.
5 A. The point on this particular advertising now is, we
6 have been running Happy Meals for several years and we have
7 done some research on Happy Meals, and most parents know
8 that there is an additional charge for the premium.
9
10 Q. Do you sell a lot more Happy Meals when there is a toy in
11 with them?
12 A. There is always some kind of toy with the Happy Meal.
13
14 Q. Always?
15 A. It is a standard menu item.
16
17 Q. So why do they sometimes say it costs more than a normal
18 Happy Meal, or whatever?
19 A. No. It costs more than the normal meal. "The meal" is
20 the hamburger, or cheeseburger, the fries and the drink.
21 The additional cost of the toy is what is being shown
22 there. But the Happy Meal is a regular menu item. You can
23 go in any day of the year and there will be some toy
24 relating to that particular Happy Meal, and that is always
25 the same charge throughout the year. We only choose to
26 advertise some of them.
27
28 Q. Why is that, then; why not just have the products?
29 A. Because we wish to have extra value with our customers
30 and because we want to add one extra selling point over and
31 above our competition, who, incidentally, also have their
32 version.
33
34 Q. Sorry?
35 A. They also have their version of the same thing.
36
37 Q. It is not adding extra value, though, is it, because you
38 said that the extra cost would be a reflection of what the
39 toy has cost?
40 A. What the toy has cost us, yes, but in terms of, if you
41 were to buy -- as a rule of thumb, we try to be about a
42 third of what a similar item may cost in a retail outlet.
43 So each of those toys represents extremely good value for
44 money.
45
46 MR. MORRIS: If they went into another place, they would not
47 have to buy a Happy Meal, would they, the food items?
48 A. That is correct.
49
50 Q. So if the children want the toys and they say: "Take me to
51 McDonald's", because they want the toys, then the parent
52 has to buy the meal, as well?
53 A. They buy the package. You will normally find that the
54 child would eat that product anyway, and then they have the
55 -- we sell the hamburger and the fries and the drinks
56 totally separately away from the meal. So they have the
57 choice of coming in to buy the meal separately, any item
58 separately and/or the Happy Meal.
59
60 Q. The toy promotion, presumably, is very popular?
