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Carl’s Jr., Hardee’s introduce Tex Mex Bacon Thickburger

Nationwide ad campaign features rival women’s sand volleyball teams battling to determine if it’s more "Tex" or more "Mex."

September 23, 2015

Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s have launched a new Tex Mex Bacon Thickburger nationwide with a new ad campaign, according to a company press release.

The Tex Mex Bacon Thickburger features a charbroiled, one-third or half-pound, Black Angus beef patty, fire-roasted poblano peppers and onions, lettuce, tomato, and bacon, pepper-Jack cheese and Santa Fe sauce.

"The big, bold flavors and tastes from the Southwest have become popular all over the country and our ‘young, hungry guy’ customers have come to expect us to introduce innovative, new burgers on the menus at Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s, so the Tex Mex Bacon Thickburger will make a lot of people very happy," said Brad Haley, chief marketing officer for Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s restaurants. "The big, 1/3 and 1/2 lb., charbroiled, 100% Black Angus beef patties and thick-cut Applewood-smoked bacon deliver on ‘Tex’ and the fire-roasted peppers and onions, pepper-Jack cheese and spicy sauce deliver on ‘Mex,’ so it really is the best of both worlds."

To support this new menu item, Los Angeles-, New York- and Amsterdam-based agency 72andSunny has created a new ad campaign, titled "Borderball," featuring Texan Elle Evans of Robin Thicke’s "Blurred Lines" music video fame, and Latina cover model Alejandra Guilmant from Mexico City, the release stated. Viewers will see each star's sand volleyball team, one representing Texas and one Mexico. Flanked by a crowd of fans from both countries, each team wants to prove it’s more "Tex" or more "Mex," the release stated. The spot will premiere nationally on Sept. 28.

"When our advertising agency, 72andSunny, was developing campaign ideas for the Tex Mex Bacon Thickburger, their research found that there really are volleyball games played across the U.S.-Mexico borderline and that became the inspiration for the ad," Haley added. "So, we dramatized those real-world events in a way that only Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s could. So, whichever side you end up rooting for, I think you’ll be a winner!"

CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc.owns and licenses Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s restaurants. CKE has 3,602 franchised or company-operated restaurants in 44 states and 36 foreign countries and U.S. territories.