Carl’s Jr (and Hardee’s) have decided that commercials that feature Paris Hilton in a sexy swimsuit, and Heidi Klum putting her tongue on the meat, is going by the wayside. They are now deciding that the old “sex sells” adage doesn’t work in the #metoo world.
Carl’s Jr – we are listening! Anytime someone comes out and says “no more sex”, you can be sure we want to talk about it! And now Carl’s Jr (and sister restaurant, Hardee’s) have decided that commercials that feature Paris Hilton in a sexy swimsuit, and Heidi Klum putting her tongue on the meat, is going by the wayside. They are now deciding that the old “sex sells” adage doesn’t work in the #metoo world.
In full disclosure, we love Carl’s Jr. Supposedly sales are slipping company wide – but they never bothered to ask why. The problem is at Hardee’s – a fast food “red headed step child” that doesn’t know if it should be selling hot dogs, chili, chicken, or turkey burgers.
Hardee’s doesn’t even have some of the Carl’s Jr best sellers on their menu, such as the Western Bacon Cheeseburger and Double Western. Hardee’s staff can’t make the burger on special request.
It also didn’t understand what a strong market leader they had when they bought Burger Chef, then proceeded to close every last one. They didn’t bother to convert most of the locations; they pulled a now-famous Trump “Catch and Kill”. Burger Chef was number two in the USA at the time.
They bought Roy Rogers Chicken in an effort to become more of a chicken restaurant to compete with KFC. Another bad move.
The company also has no control over its locations. There is little to mystery shopping. And international locations do whatever they want including using unapproved, lower quality fries, cheese, and bacon. And corporate does nothing.
Another of the foundations of Carl’s Jr and Hardee’s advertising is the “messy” side of the burgers (similar to what Wendy’s did many years ago with “Hot and Juicy”).
Carl’s famous “It’s gonna get messy” campaign reinforced the juicy nature of their burgers and implies that customers will need lots of napkins to fully enjoy the burger.
What did some international restaurants do? They removed all napkin dispensers from the table, and started allotting two (non-logoed) napkins per customer in an effort to reduce costs, as the cost of corporate approved logo napkins was substantially higher. It took CKE a year or more to catch these violations of SOP and franchise agreements. It took that long because they are NOT INSPECTING RESTAURANTS.
All these years later, Hardee’s and Carl’s still have a dividing line in the USA where the other doesn’t cross – even though they are owned by the same company. The true firepower of CKE is Carl’s Jr; why is it they continue to go through chief executive officers that do not seem to understand where the strengths of the company lie.
Carl’s also can’t decide how to run a loyalty program. I have seen two different loyalty cards in place, before they entire program was shelved. You are missing a huge marketing push. I carried a Carl’s Jr billboard in my wallet for as long as the loyalty program existed. The benefits encouraged me to push others toward lunch at Carl’s. That doesn’t happen anymore. And there is no Carls reminder in my wallet.
The key to Carl’s Jr is the burgers. Yes, they need a chicken burger (or pork burger depending on local culture), but the saving grace of Carl’s Jr is BEEF. Every person I know goes to Carl’s Jr because they want a tasty beef burger.
When McDonald’s dropped all of their premium line Angus burgers from the menu, Carl’s was there to remind its customers “Where’s the Beef” (sorry, Wendy’s). Where Carl’s and Hardee’s have not been successful is penetrating social media; and creating interest in the restaurant.
Social media would have been a strong market for the sex ads campaign that Carl’s was famous for. It would have attracted the younger generation that Carl’s is after now. But CKE, let me tell you … the younger generation you need and want to attract isn’t paying attention to you. You didn’t need to worry about offending them with your ads. You are missing the boat.
There are no official demographics released to the public, but it would be interesting to see the male/female breakdown. Given a choice between McDonald’s or Carl’s Jr/Hardee’s, I can’t imagine that McDonald’s wins out with the 30-55 male crowd. So advertising with “scantily-clad models” works just fine for the demographic.
But then they decided they would “apologize” for their “insensitivity” to women as the #metoo craze hit. They began using the “Carl Hardee Sr” moniker who, as the story unfolded, was taking the reins of the company back from “junior” who enjoyed hiring young, sexy models. “Food not boobs” was the new direction. I’m not sure why they thought they couldn’t have both.
I have to admit that I am a Matthew McConaughey fan – however, I am not a fan of the voice work he is doing in the latest commercials. But then again, it could be that I am not happy that CKE thinks they need to apologize and make amends for the type of advertising they previously used.
As a customer, I am not embarrassed at the ads and videos that ran. And I absolutely won’t feel bad or apologize for those ads encouraging me to eat at Carl’s. The image of Paris Hilton and a thickburger will forever be implanted in my mind.
In fact, for those of you who missed out on some of the best commercials made …
There was Padma Lakshmi, Charlotte McKinney, Samantha Hoopes, Kate Upton, Heidi Klum, Paris Hilton, and Nina Agdal. What part of that doesn’t work for you?
There are also a few commercials that you might have missed like Aqua Teen Hunger Force and these print ads from the Pakistani Group of stores that caused a local uproar.
Awareness is key to success. Ask any male if they know about the Paris Hilton car wash scene for Carl’s. Then ask them if they knew that Arby’s now owns Buffalo Wild Wings. I hope you will ask one of your friends this question and put their response in the comments below!
So, CKE – here are the things I think you should be working on. I’m telling you, because I know from being a long-time, dedicated customer, you aren’t doing it.
Replicate the Carl’s Jr Menu across all Hardee’s and remove the items you added to try to be everything to everyone. Focus on the BURGERS.
Fire your store and franchise compliance division. They haven’t been doing their job. Immediately create a new plan for more frequent inspections and compliance audits through-out the world.
Set up and publicize a method of contact where customers anywhere in the world can file a complaint – and the complaint goes to a COMPLIANCE first – then to the management or ownership involved.
Allowing stores, managers, and franchisees to make their own rules ruins the brand. The brand is about Burgers. Beef Burgers. Juicy Beef Burgers.
Of course, I will not stop eating at Carl’s; even though they are confused and emasculated. They win the burger wars hands down.
One reply on “No More Sex – So Says Carl’s Jr and Hardee’s”
Since you mention Carl’s and their international locations, did you ever wonder why Carl’s is all but disappeared from the Philippines??
This is from a wordpress account that doesn’t seem to be active anymore. Here is the text:
“Why Carl’s Jr. went home to America
October 3, 2011
I was around seven years old when my dad once took me to a Carl’s Jr. restaurant in Manila. It was no longer clear to me why we chose to eat there, though I knew it was not due to a special occasion. My father always did have a knack for eating at fancy places and at the time I was seven, he was a typical young adult who wanted to burn his cash on top-of-the-line and cutting edge things like laser disc players and Mahjong tables. I remember eating a burger at the restaurant and it was also the first time I ate onion rings – a dish I did not immediately like. Regardless, it was over quickly, and my memory of having lunch with my father a the restaurant faded into memory.
Fast forward more than a decade, Carl’s Jr. restaurants have all but disappeared in the Philippines. From its first opening in 1996, subsequent closing a few years later and its return attempts during the turn of the millennium, Carl’s Jr. seems to have failed to engage the Filipino market. The primary issue was the restaurants higher prices in comparison to competitors such as McDonald’s Philippines and Jollibee. If you are from the US and have eaten in Carl’s Jr. there, you probably would have found my first paragraph regarding Carl’s Jr. being a “fancy place” as strange, but for the typical Filipino consumer such as myself, Carl’s Jr. was at a different par to other burger joints simply because it was more expensive.
Filipinos love to eat. I would like to believe that most of my countrymen would spend good money on good food as often as they can and would typically adjust their budgets to buy ice cream once in a while to fight the heat. However, during the time of Carl’s Jr.’s loss in the Philippines, most of their customers started running out of good money to spend, and its marketing did not stand out and captivate its customers to choose a premium over the entry level restaurants that served nearly the same dishes. This “identity crisis” was one of the issues that killed the restaurant. Many competitors virtually sold the same kind of meals and provided the same type of service but at often lower costs. If a customer who ate at your restaurant said that your food looks and tastes like another restaurant’s, you’re doing something wrong.
Ultimately, the restaurant chain failed to adapt to the Filipino preferences and the country’s economic conditions. Even the immensely popular fast food chain McDonald’s adjusted its original menu to include rice meals – the staple diet of Filipinos and most Asians. Different restaurants had different techniques to keep people going to their establishments: some reduced serving sizes to maintain prices, others provided better service. In the end, the winners of the Filipino taste were not the most exotic, the cheapest or the most delicious – the winners were those who understood the importance of adapting to change and developing an identity that sets one from the rest.”
The author says that Carl’s has an “identity crisis” which is what you appear to think also.