ADVERTISING
1. RE-AMENDED PARTICULARS OF JUSTIFICATION AND FAIR COMMENT
Avertising aimed at Children
a. Many of the advertistng campaigns undertaken by the plaintiffs are aimed
at children. The artificial character 'Ronald McDonald' and the fantasy
world 'McDonaldland' used in advertisements by the plaintiffs are well
known to children and are intended to appeal to them. In the United
Kingdom, a director of the Second plaintiff has acknowledged that most television
commercials went out in the afternoon when children were watching, and that
it was pressure from the children which brought their parents into McDonald's
restaurants.
b. Children are led to believe that it is part of normal life to eat
at McDonald's and take part in the 'McDonaldland' experience and that they
are missing out on part of that normal life if they do not take part.
c. A study carried out by McDonald's headquarters in the USA in the 1970's
found that in three out of four families it was the children who decided
where to eat.
d. A number of the company's advertisements have been challenged by the
relevant authorities: (See also pleadings elsewhere)
e. In 1986, television advertisements in the USA for Chicken McNuggets stated
that the product was made from 100% chicken. In fact the product contained
ground up chicken skin, breading and was fried in beef fat. The New York
State Attorney General complained about the advertisements and subsequently
McDonald's dropped the advertisements.
f. In or around October 1989, McDonald's had to give the Australian Trade
practices Commission a written undertaking not to re-use full page advertisements
which had incorrectly stated that their packaging (made with HCFSs) was
'ozone friendly'
g. UK, November 1990. The advertising standards authority ruled that a McDonald's
advert was misleading which claimed that chemicals only played a very small
part In the company's food.
h. UK, April 1991. The Advertising Standards Authority upheld a complaint
against a McDonald's advert in 'Our Schools' magazine (aimed at 5-11 yr
olds) headlined "Go Green - McDonald's and the Environment' The Authority
found that the advert had wrongly implied that if the company ended its
practice of using foam packaging, a paper based alternative would not be
'fully recyclable'. It also found that it was misleading for the company
to refer to the 'recyclability' of their packaging if they themselves were
not engaged In recycling the material. The company admitted that they had
only had a small and temporary pilot recycling scheme at four Nottingham
stores.
i. In or around April 1990, a court in Finland banned a McDonald's television
advert, stating that it exploited the loneliness of a child and could give
the impression that McDonald's products can replace friends or lessen loneliness.
The advert showed a boy unhappily surveying what was to be his new home,
and his despair turning to joy when he saw a McDonald's across the street.
j. In or around February 1994, Government regulators in Korea considered
that McDonald's promotion of children's 'Happy Meals' specials was pressurising
them to spend more money. Officials interviewed company executives concerning
this.
k. In or before December 1985, McDonald's UK president Paul Preston, when
questioned about how the company had managed to grow so fast in the UK,
admitted that 'Most of our television commercials went out in the afternoon
when the kids were watching. It was pressure from the kids which brought
their parents into our restaurants'
l. USA. In or around 1990. Geoffrey Guiliano, the actor who portrayed Ronald
McDonald, stated after leaving the position: 'I brainwashed youngsters into
doing wrong. I want to say sorry to children everywhere for selling out
to concerns who make millions by murdering animals'
2. FURTHER AND BETTER PARTICULARS OF THE PARTICULARS OF JUSTIFICATION
AND FAIR COMMENT
1. Of:
- "Further or in the alternative, the words complained of in their
natural and ordinary meaning are true in substance and in fact. In so far
as it may be necessary the Defendants will rely on Section 5 of the Defamation
Act 1952.
- Particulars of justification will be served separately."
Specifying, in relation to each plaintiff, the defamatory meanings which
the Defendants seek to justify.
ANSWER
The Defendants seek to justify the following meanings in respect of each
plaintiff.
E.
- That the First and Second plaintiff use a number of gimmicks such as
striped staff uniforms, flashy lighting, bright plastic decor and happy
hats, to disguise the fact that the food products are 'low quality' . These
food products are designed to look and taste exactly the same in any outlet
anywhere in the world. Further, that to achieve this conformity, the First
and Second plaintiffs use a number of techniques, one of which is the application
of chemicals to lettuce leaves.
f.
- Nearly all the advertising undertaken by the First and Second plaintiffs
is aimed at children. In particular, children associate burgers and chips
with clowns and circuses following the wide use by the First and Second
plaintiffs of the 'Ronald McDonald' personality. The effect of such advertising
is that some children then think it is the 'norm' to go to McDonaids and
that they are not 'normal' if they do not go there. Further, that it is
sometimes difficult for parents to distract a child who is insisting on
certain types of food, such as, for example, McDonald's food. To this extent
children often 'pressurise' the people looking after them. Further, that
part of the attraction for children in going to one of the restaurants operated
or franchised by the First and/or Second plaintiff is that they are 'living
out the advert'. This can take precedence in a children's minds over their
appetite and need, the cost to their parents and the nutritional value of
the food that they consume there, encouraging overeating of 'junk' food
leading to an unbalanced diet. Further, the food is at best mediocre and
at worst can be 'poisonous' in that it is high in fat, sodium and sugar
content and low in fibre and that a diet of this nature is linked to heart
disease, cancer etc., and that it contains many additives some of which
can be harmful to children.
