Carl's Jr.
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Carl's Jr. is an American fast-food restaurant chain, located mostly on the Western Half of the United States in Pacific, Mountain, and West Coast regions. It was founded in 1941 by Carl N. Karcher, is run by parent company CKE Restaurants, Inc. and traded on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker symbol CKR.
Company History
Carl N. Karcher got his start in the food industry in 1941 by owning several hot dog stands in Los Angeles. By 1945, Karcher owned a stand-alone restaurant in Anaheim, California called Carl's Drive-In Barbeque. In 1956, Karcher opened the first two Carl's Jr. restaurants; so named because they were a smaller version of his drive-in restaurant. The restaurant chain was characterized by its fast service and its logo, the bright yellow five-pointed Happy Star. CKE's other chain, Hardee's, also shares this logo.In 1981, with 300 restaurants in operation, Carl Karcher Enterprises became a publicly held company.
Carl's Jr. quickly expanded, and currently has more than 1,000 locations in 13 U.S. states, as well as in Mexico and Singapore. Featured food items include the Double Western Bacon Cheeseburger and the Six Dollar Burger, so called because it is of the same quality of a burger one would pay six dollars for in a sit-down restaurant. In May of 2005, Carl's Jr. introduced "The Spicy BBQ Six Dollar Burger" in a controversial advertising campaign (see below).
In both 1996 and 1997, CKE Restaurants bought out the remaining Burger Chef stores anywhere in the United States in Pacific, Mountain, and West Coast regions, and converted them into the Western half-based Carl's Jr. brand.
In 1997, CKE Restaurants acquired Hardee's, a restaurant chain with 2,500 locations on the East Coast of the United States. Hardee's restaurants are gradually being converted to be more like Carl's Jr, with some of the same menu items and even adopting the same star logo. The chain has also opened at least one restaurant in a former Rally's location in Hollywood with a drive-thru lane, walk-up window and no interior seating. It has been dubbed [Carl's Jr. Jr].
In 2002, CKE Restaurants, Inc. acquired Santa Barbara Restaurant Group (the parent company of the Green Burrito brand). Some Carl's Jr. stores are now co-branded as Green Burrito locations. At least one Carl's Jr. location, on Flower Street in downtown Los Angeles, serves beer.
As of 2006, Carl's Jr. operates 1,049 restaurants in 13 U.S. states.
Other Slogans
- If it doesn't get all over the place, it doesn't belong in your face.
- Don't bother me...I'm eating.
- Without us, some guys would starve.
- It's gonna get messy.
Advertisement Controversy
Over the course of recent years, Carl's Jr. has been involved in numerous advertisement controversies because of the sexual content in their television advertising campaigns.Hugh Hefner Campaign
In November of 2003, Carl's Jr. and Hardee's began a television advertisement campaign, that featured Hugh Hefner, the founder of the Playboy empire. The purpose of the ad campaign was to "humorously allude[s] to [his] enjoyment of variety" -- in comparison to the fast-food chain's variety in their menu.
The commercial featured Hugh Hefner speaking in documentary format. "People always ask me: 'Hey, Hef. Do you have favorites?' I tell 'em, 'No -- It's not about that." Three young, alluring women then offer their insights into Hefner's plight. "He can have anything he wants. I don't know how he makes the choice," says the first woman. The second says, "I feel for Hef. It's so hard to choose." And finally the third: "I don't know how he does it." Hefner's response? "I love 'em all. It just depends on what I'm in the mood for." The commercial concludes with Hefner biting into a hamburger while the announcer says: "Because some guys don't like the same thing night after night."
The advertisement caused an uproar by various organizations such as the American Family Association. As a response, the parent company of Carl's, Jr. is CKE Restaurants, Inc. CKE President and CEO Andrew F. Puzder stated in a press release: "Who better to deliver the message of variety than Hugh Hefner? We're appealing to an audience of young, hungry guys who expect a quality product, but want to have something different from time to time .... As a pop-icon, Hefner appeals to our target audience and credibly communicates our message of variety."
Paris Hilton Campaign
In May of 2005, Carl's Jr. introduced its "Spicy BBQ Six Dollar Burger" in a television advertisement, which features Hilton Hotel heiress Paris Hilton in a provocative swimsuit soaping up a Bentley automobile and crawling all over it before taking a big bite out of the burger.
The commercial has drawn criticism from television watchdog groups, including the Parents Television Council. The research director for the PTC, Melissa Caldwell, says; "This commercial is basically soft-core porn. The way she moves, the way she puts her finger in her mouth — it's very suggestive and very titillating." The Los Angeles, California-based group says they plan to mobilize their more than 1 million members to contact the restaurant chain and voice their concern.
Andrew F. Puzder, CEO of Carl's Jr., says the group needs to "get a life… This isn't Janet Jackson — there is no nipple in this. There is no nudity, there are no sex acts — it's a beautiful model in a swimsuit washing a car."
In addition to featuring the ad on their web site, Carl's Jr. has also built a [separate web site] to play a longer version of the commercial. In an unusual move, this site also includes a web-released parody of the official ad, created for California based recruiting firm Accolo. Their parody is a shot for shot copy featuring a large, hairy male model in place of Paris Hilton. The tagline is "Hiring the Right Person Makes All the Difference".
A similar Hardee's ad with Paris Hilton aired in June of 2005.
Green Burrito/Carl's Jr. dual brand concept
External links
- [Carl's Jr. official website]
- [CKE Restaurants, Inc. official website]
- [Website featuring the Hilton SpicyBurger commercial]
Sources
- redirect
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