Day 300 - 14 Nov 96 - Page 05

     
     1        She also referred to the jingles in the ads, stating that
     2        these had become perhaps modern nursery rhymes of the
     3        school playground and that advertising jingles had a
     4        currency that children may feel that they were more popular
     5        if they are the one who can come into the playground with
     6        the latest jingle or catch phrase.  That was day 54,
     7        page 16, line 41.
     8
     9        She said that by using this technique, the advertisements
    10        sought to draw children into the McDonald's world, which
    11        was portrayed as a very attractive and fun place to be.
    12        That was on day 54, page 16, line 54.
    13
    14        In addition, the use of collectibles had a similar effect,
    15        because a child would want to have them.  I mean, firstly,
    16        just something to have for the sake of having it, but
    17        particularly if their friends had them, that they would
    18        feel that they were going to be missing out if they did not
    19        have them.  That was on day 54, page 16, line 57.
    20
         She went on to talk about the pressures on children of
    22        having to use the right brands to be socially acceptable,
    23        and referred to the role of advertisements in shaping
    24        children's feelings about which brands were acceptable or
    25        were "in", and, obviously, that relates to the evidence of
    26        Mr. Hawkes yesterday.  Well, the evidence that I referred
    27        to yesterday of Mr. Hawkes about being cool and, you know,
    28        wanting children to think that McDonald's was something
    29        cool and the place to be, and so on.
    30
    31        Miss Dibb felt that an extension of this was the way that
    32        in some of the McDonald's advertisements they sought to
    33        make the McDonald's experience a part of the normal
    34        everyday life of the child.  She said that phrases like
    35        'there is nothing quite like a McDonald's', and 'a visit
    36        to McDonald's makes your day' were certainly likely to make
    37        children think that McDonald's was somewhere they would
    38        like to go, where other children go, and that it was a very
    39        normal part of life.  That was day 54, page 17, line 20.
    40
         She expressed particular concern about the collectibles,
    42        saying that children loved to collect things, that
    43        McDonald's have recognised this and that with their Happy
    44        Meals they provide an extensive range of collectibles,
    45        typically four to a set, with a different one to collect
    46        each week.  Obviously, throughout the year they have any
    47        number of different sets.  She said that children are being
    48        encouraged to buy McDonald's product not for the product
    49        but because they want the toy.  That was on day 54,
    50        page 18, line 27.
    51
    52        You may remember that she commented on the Golden Arches
    53        code of advertising, which is normally kept under wraps by
    54        the company, and she made reference to the description of
    55        ronald mcdonald in the document about kids as well as other
    56        characters look up to him, respect him and like him a lot.
    57        Miss Dibb said that "I think ronald mcdonald has been
    58        specially created to be a character to which children are
    59        encouraged to feel warmly towards, and in that sense to
    60        feel loyalty towards".