Day 300 - 14 Nov 96 - Page 03

     
     1
     2        She said that in her view the advertising regulatory bodies
     3        should look at the overall cumulative effect of
     4        advertising, not just at individual adverts, if you were
     5        looking at the role of advertising and its effects on
     6        children's diets, and she said that it was clear that
     7        advertisers would not advertise unless it was effective in
     8        encouraging children to consume their products, that the
     9        concern is that the kind of products that children are
    10        being encouraged to consume is at odds with the kind of
    11        foods that they are being encouraged to consume by
    12        nutrition recommendations.  That was on day 54, page 9,
    13        line 31.
    14
    15        Obviously, this is part of the leaflet because the leaflet
    16        does make the point that it is not just McDonald's that is
    17        the problem; it is the other multi-national companies and
    18        other companies, and that McDonald's has an effect on its
    19        own but it also contributes to the overall effect of
    20        children making negative food choices in terms of
         nutritional value.
    22
    23        She said that the range of foods that are advertised do
    24        tend to be processed foods where the processors were able
    25        to sell the products at a higher price than the basic food
    26        ingredients; and that it was not just the added cost of
    27        processing, it was the fact that they could just make more
    28        profits from them.  That was on day 54, page 9.
    29
    30        She said on day 54, page 7, that overall children were
    31        getting the message from the advertisements that was very
    32        different to the nutritional messages that were being
    33        encouraged by government reports and policies as to what
    34        constitutes a healthy balanced diet.  Obviously, that would
    35        apply to McDonald's as well.  As well as the advertising in
    36        general, it applies specifically to McDonald's.
    37
    38        She said that the effects of advertising this limited range
    39        of food products was to make fatty and sugary food more
    40        attractive and more desirable to children than foods which
         were not advertised.  That was on day 54, page 10, line
    42        15.
    43
    44        She went on to comment on the video compilation of a number
    45        of McDonald's advertisements which McDonald's entered as
    46        evidence in the trial.  That was on day 54, page 12, line
    47        60.
    48
    49        She said that the advertisements directed at children
    50        tended to focus on fantasy situations or, particularly in
    51        relation to Happy Meals, the emphasis was on collectibles.
    52        This was rather than the emphasis being on the food.  That
    53        was page 13, line 22.
    54
    55        She said that where the food was shown, it was usually seen
    56        inside its packaging, particularly, for example, Happy
    57        Meals, where the packaging was designed to be attractive
    58        and it was part of what was being bought as well as the
    59        food.  That was page 13, line 36.
    60