Article

Carl's and Hardee's event 'blows up' the 'bad ol' days'

In a literal attempt to blow the bikinis-and-burgers image of Carl's Jr. and Hardee's out of consumers' minds, CKE Restaurants is inviting the world to the "total destruction of old ad campaign relics" in an event labeled simply, "The Purge." The demolition and subsequent "brand activation" will be broadcast live on the Twitch.tv website April 8.

April 6, 2017

CKE Restaurants brands Carl's Jr. and Hardee's have taken a public beating in this first quarter of 2017. Former CEO Andrew Puzder attracted a lot of negative attention during his failed nomination for the of post Labor Secretary in the Trump administration, and the backwash seemed to spread like spilled kerosene over the brand's reputation in a combustible combination with its notoriously provocative ads.

Now in a literal attempt to blow its less-than-glowing past out of the public mind, CKE Restaurants has announced in a press release that it is inviting the world to the "total destruction of old ad campaign relics" during an event labeled simply, "The Purge." The demolition and subsequent "brand activation" will be broadcast live on the Twitch.tv website April.

The even follows the debut of an ad campaign featuring the fictional father-and-son owners of Carl's Jr. and Hardee's who have — how shall we say — philosophical differences about how to run the businesses. "Carl Hardee Jr." is well-versed in the old ways of advertising and management; "Carl Hardee Sr." wants a new way, centered the notion idea that the two chains have always been innovation pioneers in the burger business.

Long story short, Senior wins. The Purge is to be the final farewell to Junior's past contributions.

The brand will live stream its event on the Twitch homepage this Saturday from 2–4 p.m. According to the news release, this will involve "purging iconic relics of the recent past" — that is, props from the company’s former provocative ad campaigns.

The release goes explains that "From a giant crate of bulk-bought bikinis to 900 gallons of flammable tanning oil to remnant cases of Jr.’s meat cologne, it all must be, well, destroyed — and [the company] is calling on some loveable, yet diabolical, denizens of the internet for help." 

Carl's and Hardee's are known in some circles as the "bikinis and burgers" brands.' But during Puzer's unsuccessful run-up to Senate nomination hearings, it became painfully clear that this was not sitting well with today's diners. Puzder pulled his hat out of the ring following a series of unsavory allegations about his personal life, compounded by widespread campaigns against him by labor organizations.

At this point, the company would like nothing more than to blast its past to smithereens and turn the public's gaze to more positive aspects of the brands.

"Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s new advertising direction is all about our brands’ pioneering spirits," CKE CMO Brad Haley said in the news release. "We pioneered the use of charbroilers, made drive-thru’s a thing, and led the premium-quality charge with better-for-you options like all-natural grass-fed beef burgers and all-natural charbroiled chicken fillets with no antibiotics, ever. Now, to help communicate our new advertising campaign direction, we’ve pioneered a new kind of partnership with our friends at Twitch, the industry leader in interactive live video content."

CKE Restaurants engaged creative agency, 72andSunny, to develop the campaign. Executive creative director Jason Norcross explained that "with this brand transformation campaign, we're figuratively blowing up the past, so we thought it'd be fun to invite fans to help us literally blow it up, too. We're taking representations of the past out to a remote location and ceremoniously blowing it all up for everyone to see. … It’s just another example of the brand having fun with its past in order to chart a new course that gets back to focusing on the food."

Photo: iStock