Day 043 - 01 Nov 94 - Page 42
1 A. They were associated. I think kids enjoy kind of
2 detective work, and we thought that it would make it even
3 more enjoyable if they were part of an overall theme line,
4 where Ronald was actually searching for something as well.
5
6 I think this is an advertisement for ronald mcdonald's
7 Family Theatre.
8
9 (The next advertisement was shown)
10
11 THE WITNESS: I actually believe that this was one of the
12 openings of that special, but I am not sure. There was a
13 40-second commercial there.
14
15 Now, that would have been the actual open to Ronald
16 McDonald Children's Family Theatre and, essentially, the
17 reason it is, I guess, on this reel is that is in fact a
18 commercial, and it is logged as commercial time on the
19 networks because it is featuring ronald mcdonald as he
20 starts the programme. So the programme time itself, which
21 is the family classic itself, is different from the
22 commercial time, and this would be the introduction.
23
24 MR. RAMPTON: Can I ask you, while we have that one in our
25 minds, whether there is any intention on the part of the
26 company to suggest that Ronald can actually provide a child
27 with a puppy, if the child had wished to have one?
28 A. No. I think it was just an indication of what wishes
29 are about. I think we will see that, as we go away from
30 the story, Ronald is the story teller; he leads in and he
31 leads out of it; and this would be one of the breaks in the
32 story line.
33
34 (The next advertisement was shown)
35
36 Q. Can I stop you there and ask you why it is that Ronald asks
37 the rhetorical question of the audience: "Isn't reading
38 fun"?
39 A. I think the most important thing is that we are trying
40 to encourage children to read, and one of the things that
41 we are trying to do with this particular programme is that
42 here they see a very exciting show that they can watch on
43 television, and they are also encouraged to read books so
44 that they can enjoy it through reading, as well.
45
46 Q. Is that particular film a film version of a book?
47 A. It is a film version of a story. I am not sure how big
48 a book it is, but it is a story; and, again, the Children's
49 Television Workshop had that property and gave it to us for
50 this particular programme. Here is another break,
51 I believe.
52
53 (The next advertisement was shown)
54
55 THE WITNESS: The actual programme, the half hour programme, is
56 in the form of a book, a book coming alive. So that is one
57 of the reasons that Ronald uses the book; and then, as he
58 turns the pages, it sort of comes alive in the programme
59 itself. I think this is the end portion. That would have
60 been the last segment of the programme.
