Fast food chains Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr., which are owned by the same parent company, know how to get grab your attention. Their ads have been starring models eating their incredibly outrageous (and dangerous to your health) burgers, for years and their CEO embraces the controversy. After all, the ads work.
Andy Puzder, the CEO of CKE Restaurants, sat down with the Associated Press to discuss the ads, just as a new one is about to hit the air. In this one, Samantha Hoopes is seen eating the new Most American Thickburger, which features a hot dog on top of a burger, with chips under it.
In the interview, Puzder said that the ads have helped sales grow 5 percent at already established locations in the second half of the previous fiscal year. They “cut through the clutter” to help distinguish the chains.
He also takes responsibility for launching the careers of models, including Kate Upton and Charlotte McKinney. In McKinney’s Super Bowl ad, they made it look like she was in the nude while eating the All-Natural Burger.
“We have a history of picking these young women before they hit their peak,” Puzder said. “We put Kate Upton in an ad a month before she got the cover for Sports Illustrated. At the time we picked her, we just said, ‘This is a beautiful woman.’”
He said that they have even received calls from actresses who want to be in it, but get turned down because “they’re not right for the brand.” Puzder insisted that age isn’t a problem, noting that Heidi Klum recently did an ad.
“It depends on a lot of interlocking factors, and what products we're promoting. First of all, you really need to be able to eat the burger like you're loving it. We don't want somebody that's going to go out there and say, ‘Well, I don't eat burgers,’” he told the AP. “You really have to go at it. You really have to attack it.”
screenshot from Carl's Jr. YouTube video