Carl's Jr. Restaurants LLC is an American
fast food restaurant
A fast-food restaurant, also known as a quick-service restaurant (QSR) within the industry, is a specific type of restaurant that serves fast-food cuisine and has minimal table service. The food served in fast-food restaurants is typically ...
chain
A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A c ...
operated by
CKE Restaurant Holdings, Inc., with franchisees in North & South America, Asia, Oceania, Europe and Africa.
In 2016, ''
Entrepreneur
Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...
'' listed Carl's Jr. as No. 54 on their Top
Franchise 500
The Franchise 500 is an annual ranking of the top 500 franchising companies in the U.S. and Canada, compiled by ''Entrepreneur'' magazine through a submission and review process. The ranking is based on an evaluation of each company's costs and ...
list, which ranks the overall financial strength, stability, and growth rate for the top 500 franchisees in any field across the United States.
As of March 2016, CKE (the parent company of Carl's Jr. and
Hardee's) has a total of 3,664 franchised or company-operated restaurants in 44 states and 38 foreign countries and U.S. territories.
History
In 1941,
Carl Karcher (1917–2008), who was a truck driver, and his wife Margaret Karcher (1915–2006), borrowed $311 ($ in dollars ) on their Plymouth automobile and added $15 ($ in dollars ) in savings to purchase a
hot dog cart
A hot dog cart is a specialized mobile food stand for preparing and selling street food
Street food is ready-to-eat food or drinks sold by a hawker, or vendor, in a street or at other public places, such as markets or fairs. It is often sold ...
on the corner of Florence and Central in Los Angeles. From their newly purchased cart, they sold hot dogs, chili dogs, and tamales for a dime ($ in dollars ), and soda for a nickel ($ in dollars ). Within a few years, Carl and Margaret owned and operated four hot dog stands in Los Angeles. In 1945, the Karchers moved the short distance to
Anaheim, California
Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...
, and opened their first full-service restaurant, Carl's Drive-In Barbecue at 1108 N. Palm St. (now Harbor).
In 1946, hamburgers were added to the menu for the first time.
In 1956, Karcher opened the first two Carl's Jr. restaurants – so named because they were a smaller version of Carl's Drive-In Barbecue restaurant – in Anaheim and
Brea.
The first local Carl's Jr. was built in 1956 on the former Janss Street next to St. Boniface Catholic Church about half a block away from
Anaheim High School
Anaheim High School is a public, four-year high school in the city of Anaheim, California, United States and serves students
living in the Colony District of Anaheim. Anaheim High School was first established in 1898, which makes it the oldest ...
. That former Carl's Jr. is now the church's Bethany Hall while currently a restaurant is now located one block south on Harbor Boulevard. The former flagship Carl's Jr. is located at 1200 N. Harbor Blvd in Anaheim next to the former corporate headquarter office at 401 Carl Karcher Way until 2003, when the company moved its headquarters to a larger facility 500 feet north of the original location at 1325 N Anaheim Blvd. in Anaheim, then moving again in 2018 to
Franklin, Tennessee
Franklin is a city in and county seat of Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. About south of Nashville, it is one of the principal cities of the Nashville metropolitan area and Middle Tennessee. As of 2020, its population was 83,454 ...
.
By the end of the 1950s, there were four Carl's Jr. restaurants in
Orange County, California
Orange County is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, a ...
. The restaurants also had a new supervisor, Donald F. Karcher, Carl's younger brother, who would later become the company's president.
By the 1960s, Carl was operating 24 restaurants in Southern California. The company incorporated in 1966 as
Carl Karcher Enterprises, Inc., and launched a major expansion of the chain in 1968. The menus were limited for faster service, featuring charbroiled hamburgers, hot dogs, fries, and malts.
By 1975, there were more than 100 Carl's Jr. locations in Southern California, and the company expanded into the northern part of the state. Carl's Jr. celebrated its success by building its Anaheim corporate headquarters in 1976. The following year, it became the first
QSR chain to offer salad bars in all 200 locations. The first out-of-state restaurant opened in Las Vegas in 1979. By the end of the decade, sales exceeded the $100 million mark.
![Carl's_Jr](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/Carl%27s_Jr._breakfast_food.jpg)
In 1980, the company hired its 10,000th employee, doubling its employee count in just three years. In 1981, with 300 restaurants in operation, Carl Karcher Enterprises became a publicly held company. In 1984, Carl's Jr. was franchised for the first time. Carl's Jr.'s menu expanded during the decade with the addition of the Western Bacon Cheeseburger, breakfast items, a charbroiled chicken sandwich line, and self-service
soda fountains
A soda fountain is a device that dispenses carbonated soft drinks, called fountain drinks. They can be found in restaurants, concession stands and other locations such as convenience stores. The device combines flavored syrup or syrup concentrat ...
. By the end of the decade, sales topped $480 million at 534 restaurants. The company also opened its first international units in the Pacific Rim. In addition, Carl's Jr. was one of the first chains to introduce a debit card payment system, inviting customers to use their ATM cards in the restaurants.
In 1988, Karcher and his family were accused of
insider trading
Insider trading is the trading of a public company's stock or other securities (such as bonds or stock options) based on material, nonpublic information about the company. In various countries, some kinds of trading based on insider information ...
by the
Securities and Exchange Commission
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...
. They had sold large quantities of stock before the price dropped. Karcher agreed to a settlement with the SEC and paid more than half a million dollars in fines.
![Carl's Jr](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/Carl%27s_Jr._Denton.JPG)
Carl's Jr. chains had struggled to gain success in
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
and
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, perhaps diminishing hopes of expansion to other states, though later states like Nevada, Oregon, and Washington proved successful. During the 1990s, Karcher and the board of directors began clashing, often publicly, over marketing and business practices, including the chain's attempt at dual branding with such chains as
The Green Burrito
CKE Restaurants Holdings (an acronym from Carl Karcher Enterprises) is an American fast food corporation and is the parent organization for the Carl's Jr., Hardee's, Green Burrito, and Red Burrito brands. CKE Restaurants is a subsidiary of the pr ...
and its new advertising campaigns. Karcher was removed as chairman of the company by its board of directors on October 1, 1993. Soon after, the board of directors took a new approach by cutting the menu, lowering prices, and introducing a new marketing campaign which targeted younger urban and suburban males.
Following Don Karcher's death in 1992, a new management team was installed in 1994, headed by CEO William P. Foley II and President and Chief Operating Officer Tom Thompson. Carl Karcher Enterprises became a wholly owned subsidiary of
CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc.
During the mid-1990s, Carl's Jr. unveiled its "If it doesn't get all over the place, it doesn't belong in your face" campaign, which featured younger people eating Carl's Jr.'s burgers with ketchup and juice dripping from the burger and onto clothes and other areas.
In 1997,
CKE Restaurants
CKE Restaurants Holdings (an acronym from Carl Karcher Enterprises) is an American fast food corporation and is the parent organization for the Carl's Jr., Hardee's, Green Burrito, and Red Burrito brands. CKE Restaurants is a subsidiary of the priv ...
acquired
Hardee's, a restaurant chain with 2500 locations in the
Midwest
The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...
,
South
South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...
, and
East Coast
East Coast may refer to:
Entertainment
* East Coast hip hop, a subgenre of hip hop
* East Coast (ASAP Ferg song), "East Coast" (ASAP Ferg song), 2017
* East Coast (Saves the Day song), "East Coast" (Saves the Day song), 2004
* East Coast FM, a ra ...
regions.
In 2001, Carl's Jr. introduced the Thickburger line with the 1/2 lb. Six Dollar Burger, with sister chain Hardee's following in 2003.
In 2002, CKE Restaurants acquired
Santa Barbara Restaurant Group
Santa Barbara Restaurant Group was a restaurant holding company and was the parent company for the ''Green Burrito'', ''La Salsa'', ''JB's Restaurants'', and the '' Timber Lodge Steakhouse'' restaurant chain.
The ''Santa Barbara Restaurant Group' ...
, the parent company of the ''
Green Burrito
CKE Restaurants Holdings (an acronym from Carl Karcher Enterprises) is an American fast food corporation and is the parent organization for the Carl's Jr., Hardee's, Green Burrito, and Red Burrito brands. CKE Restaurants is a subsidiary of the pri ...
'' brand. Some Carl's Jr. stores are now co-branded with Green Burrito, as are some Hardee's stores.
In 2005, Carl's Jr. introduced hand-scooped ice cream shakes.
On January 11, 2008, Carl Karcher, the founder of hamburger chain Carl's Jr., died at the age of 90. A spokeswoman for CKE Restaurants said Karcher suffered from
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...
and was being treated for Parkinson's-related
pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...
when he died at
St. Jude Medical Center in
Fullerton, California
Fullerton ( ) is a city located in northern Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 143,617.
Fullerton was founded in 1887. It secured the land on behalf of the Atchison, Topeka and Sa ...
. Many Carl's Jr. restaurants flew their flags at half-staff in memory of Karcher.
In the 2010s, Carl's Jr. and Hardee's rolled out Hand-Breaded Chicken Tenders. Carl's Jr. and Hardee's began offering Charbroiled Turkey Burgers in 2011, marking another industry first by becoming the first national fast food chains to offer Turkey Burgers.
In July 2010, CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc. was acquired by Columbia Lake Acquisition Holdings, Inc., an affiliate of Apollo Management VII, L.P. allowing CKE to continue to grow and succeed as a privately held company under the ownership of Apollo.
In 2011, Carl's Jr. introduced made-from-scratch biscuits.
On November 20, 2013,
Roark Capital Group
Roark Capital Group is an American private equity firm with over $33 billion in assets under management. The firm is focused on leveraged buyout investments in middle-market companies, primarily in the franchise/multi-location, restaurant and fo ...
agreed to acquire CKE from Apollo for $1.65–$1.75 billion.
In December 2014, Carl's Jr. introduced the All-Natural Burger, featuring an all-natural, grass-fed, free-range beef patty that has no added hormones, antibiotics, or steroids – the first major fast-food chain to offer an all-natural beef patty on the menu. In December 2015, the All-Natural Turkey Burger was introduced – the fast food industry's first.
In September 2017, CKE decided to re-brand its
Poughkeepsie, New York
Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsi ...
, and
Middletown, New York, Hardee's locations into Carl's Jr. in order to focus on lunch and dinner options for a
Northeastern United States
The Northeastern United States, also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast, is a geographic region of the United States. It is located on the Atlantic coast of North America, with Canada to its north, the Southe ...
consumer base, however both those stores have closed.
Although, since 1997 both Hardee's and Carl's Jr operated essentially as one brand, 2018 saw CKE Restaurants announced plans to try to separate their identities. Part of the effort involved remodeling several Hardee's restaurants as well as giving both brands distinct ad campaigns.
Although both chains at the time of the split shared the same menu CKE noted that they would slowly change over time although with "some overlap"
In January 2019, Carls Jr. introduced a
Beyond Meat
Beyond Meat, Inc. is a Los Angeles–based producer of plant-based meat substitutes founded in 2009 by Ethan Brown. The company's initial products were launched in the United States in 2012. History Founding
Ethan Brown founded the company in ...
patty as an addition to their menu. They were one of the first large chain restaurants to introduce a vegan-friendly patty to their menu and roll it out to all of their locations. Soon after Burger King and many others followed by adding plant-based burgers to their menus.
In mid-March 2020, all restaurants temporarily abandoned indoor dining to combat the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. Customers could still make their orders via
drive thru
A drive-through or drive-thru (a sensational spelling of the word ''through''), is a type of take-out service provided by a business that allows customers to purchase products without leaving their cars. The format was pioneered in the United ...
, pick-up or
take-away
A take-out or takeout (U.S., Canada, and the Philippines); carry-out or to-go (Scotland and some dialects in the U.S. and Canada); takeaway (England, Wales, Australia, Lebanon, South Africa, Northern Ireland, Ireland, and occasionally in Nort ...
service.
International
In November 2015, Carl's Jr. opened its 200th restaurant in Mexico. The brand first entered the market in 1991.
In August 2016, Carl's Jr. opened its first location in India at Saket's Select Citywalk Mall in Delhi.
As of 2017, CKE (the parent company of Carl's Jr. and Hardee's) has a total of 3665 franchised or company-operated restaurants in 44 states and 39 foreign countries and U.S. territories. Outside of the U.S., Carl's Jr. is currently present in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
,
Belarus
Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...
,
Bolivia
, image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg
, flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center
, flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
,
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
,
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
,
western Canada
Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West or the Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a Canadian region that includes the four western provinces just north of the Canada ...
,
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
,
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
,
Costa Rica
Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
,
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
,
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...
,
Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
,
Guatemala
Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
,
Honduras
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
,
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
,
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
,
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
,
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
,
Nicaragua
Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...
,
Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...
,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
,
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
,
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
, and
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
.
According to Yale's Chief Executive Leadership Institute, Carl's Jr is listed as a company that has refused to curtail its business in Russia after the
2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
.
Philanthropy
CKE conducts an annual Stars for Heroes in-store fundraising campaign at both Carl's Jr. and Hardee's to benefit U.S. military veterans and their families. Since the program's launch in 2011, Stars for Heroes has raised nearly $5 million.
Co-branding
In several
Western U.S.
The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...
locations, Carl's Jr. parent CKE has begun operating co-branded restaurants with its
Green Burrito
CKE Restaurants Holdings (an acronym from Carl Karcher Enterprises) is an American fast food corporation and is the parent organization for the Carl's Jr., Hardee's, Green Burrito, and Red Burrito brands. CKE Restaurants is a subsidiary of the pri ...
group. This same strategy has also been used by
Yum! Brands
Yum! Brands, Inc. (or Yum!), formerly Tricon Global Restaurants, Inc., is an American fast food corporation listed on the Fortune 1000. Yum! operates the brands KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and The Habit Burger Grill, except in China, where the br ...
with its
KFC
KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) is an American fast food restaurant chain headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, that specializes in fried chicken. It is the world's second-largest restaurant chain (as measured by sales) after McDonald's, with 2 ...
,
Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut is an American multinational restaurant chain and international franchise founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas by Dan and Frank Carney. They serve their signature pan pizza and other dishes including pasta, breadsticks and dessert at d ...
,
Taco Bell
Taco Bell is an American-based chain of fast food restaurants founded in 1962 by Glen Bell (1923–2010) in Downey, California. Taco Bell is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. The restaurants serve a variety of Mexican-inspired foods, includi ...
. And Formerly Yum! Brands
A&W Restaurants
A&W Restaurants is an American fast food restaurant chain distinguished by its Hamburger, burgers, draft root beer and root beer floats. Being the oldest restaurant chain in America, A&W's origins date back to 1919 when Roy W. Allen set up a r ...
, and
Long John Silver's
Long John Silver's (formerly known as Long John Silver's Seafood Shoppes and sometimes abbreviated as LJS) is an American chain of fast-food restaurants that specializes in seafood. The brand's name is derived from the novel ''Treasure Island ...
concepts to expand brands without the additional expense of new buildings and land.
Advertising
When Carl's Jr. first started rebranding Hardee's locations into the Carl's Jr. name, both chains mostly kept separate ads. This changed with the now-infamous
Paris Hilton
Paris Whitney Hilton (born February 17, 1981) is an American media personality, businesswoman, socialite, model, and entertainer. Born in New York City, and raised there and in Beverly Hills, California, she is a great-granddaughter of Conra ...
ad (see below) and the "Without us, some guys would starve." Campaign, which aired as either for Carl's Jr. or Hardee's, depending on where the ads aired. This would continue with other ads for the next several years, including ads by
Kate Upton
Katherine Elizabeth Upton (born June 10, 1992) is an American model. She first appeared in the ''Sports Illustrated'' Swimsuit Issue in 2011, and was the cover model for the 2012, 2013 and 2017 issues. In addition, she was the subject of the 10 ...
,
Kim Kardashian
Kimberly Noel Kardashian (formerly West; born October 21, 1980) is an American socialite, media personality, and businesswoman. She first gained media attention as a friend and stylist of Paris Hilton, but received wider notice after the sex ...
,
Emily Ratajkowski
Emily O'Hara Ratajkowski (, ; born June 7, 1991) is an American model and actress. Born in London to American parents and raised in Encinitas, California, Ratajkowski began acting as a child before she gained a recurring role on the Nickelodeon ...
,
Sara Jean Underwood
Sara Jean Underwood (born March 26, 1984) is an American model, television host, and actress who was chosen as the Playmate of the Month for the July 2006 issue of ''Playboy'' magazine. and later became Playmate of the Year in 2007. She is a f ...
,
Hannah Ferguson
Hannah Emily Rose Ferguson (born October 12, 1992) is an American model.
Early life
Ferguson's parents met while serving in the U.S. Marine Corps. She stated on the show ''Model Squad'' (2018) that her family "had financial struggles". The fami ...
,
Heidi Klum
Heidi Klum (; born 1 June 1973) is a German-American model, television host, producer, and businesswoman. She appeared on the cover of the ''Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue'' in 1998 and was the first German model to become a Victoria's Secre ...
,
Charlotte McKinney
Charlotte Ann McKinney (born August 6, 1993) is an American model and actress who first gained attention as an Instagram personality, eventually achieving wider recognition for her appearance in a Carl's Jr. commercial which aired regionally du ...
,
Ronda Rousey
Ronda Jean Rousey (; born February 1, 1987) is an American professional wrestler, actress, former judoka and mixed martial artist. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand and is the current SmackDown Women ...
,
Padma Lakshmi
Padma Parvati Lakshmi (; born September 1, 1970) is an Indian-born American author, activist, actress, model, philanthropist, and television host. She has hosted the cooking competition program ''Top Chef'' on Bravo continuously since season 2 ( ...
, and
Hayden Panettiere
Hayden Lesley Panettiere (; born August 21, 1989) is an American actress, model, and singer. She is best known for her lead roles as Claire Bennet on the NBC superhero series ''Heroes (American TV series), Heroes'' and Juliette Barnes in the Am ...
.
In January 1997, commercials featuring
NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
player
Dennis Rodman
Dennis Keith Rodman (born May 13, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player. Known for his fierce defensive and rebounding abilities, his biography on the official NBA website states that he is "arguably the best rebounding ...
were, pulled after he was fined a then-record $25,000 and suspended for 11 games for kicking a cameraman in the groin during a game in
Minneapolis
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
,
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
. His commercials resumed airing after his suspension was lifted. However, in June of that same year, Carl's Jr pulled his commercials for good after he was fined a then-record $50,000 for using profanity against Mormons during a game in
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...
,
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
.
In 2005, Carl's Jr. launched a marketing campaign featuring bikini-clad models posing suggestively to capture the "hungry, young guy" demographic. The advertisements were criticized for objectifying women and prompted calls to boycott Carl's Jr. Company CEO
Andrew Puzder
Andrew Franklin Puzder (born July 11, 1950) is an American attorney, author, and businessman. He is the former chief executive officer of CKE Restaurants, the parent company of Hardee's and Carl's Jr., a position he held from September 2000 to ...
defended the campaign in ''
Entrepreneur
Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...
'' magazine, saying, "I like our ads. I like beautiful women eating burgers in bikinis. I think it's very American."
In the years before his death in 2008, Karcher objected to the sexualized nature of the company's advertising, and was reported "just heartbroken" that a company he founded on Christian principles has taken such "an amoral act." Karcher had previously criticized CKE's previous campaigns during the 1990s.
Paris Hilton campaign
In May 2005, Carl's Jr. introduced its "Spicy BBQ Six Dollar Burger" in a television advertisement created by Mendelsohn Zien Advertising. The ad features
Paris Hilton
Paris Whitney Hilton (born February 17, 1981) is an American media personality, businesswoman, socialite, model, and entertainer. Born in New York City, and raised there and in Beverly Hills, California, she is a great-granddaughter of Conra ...
in a provocative swimsuit soaping up a
Bentley
Bentley Motors Limited is a British designer, manufacturer and marketer of luxury cars and SUVs. Headquartered in Crewe, England, the company was founded as Bentley Motors Limited by W. O. Bentley (1888–1971) in 1919 in Cricklewood, North ...
automobile and crawling all over it before taking a big bite out of her burger and giving her signature phrase, "That's hot."
The commercial was directed by
Chris Applebaum
Chris Applebaum is a music video director from Los Angeles, California. His videos including Miley Cyrus' '' Party in the U.S.A.'', Usher's ''Dive'', and Demi Lovato's ''Heart Attack''. 30 of his videos have reached #1 on the MTV charts. Apple ...
.
With the two chains selling many common menu items by 2013, Carl's Jr. began to advertise nationally in conjunction with Hardee's for products sold by both brands.
All Natural campaign
In January 2015, Carl's Jr. released a commercial online featuring model
Charlotte McKinney
Charlotte Ann McKinney (born August 6, 1993) is an American model and actress who first gained attention as an Instagram personality, eventually achieving wider recognition for her appearance in a Carl's Jr. commercial which aired regionally du ...
advertising its new
All Natural Burger to air regionally
during Super Bowl XLIX
Super Bowl XLIX was an American football game played to determine the champions of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2014 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots defeated the National Football Conf ...
. The ad features McKinney walking around a
farmers' market
A farmers' market (or farmers market according to the AP stylebook, also farmer's market in the Cambridge Dictionary) is a physical retail marketplace intended to sell foods directly by farmers to consumers. Farmers' markets may be indoors or o ...
, implying that she is
"all natural", and uses
double entendre
A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, of which one is typically obvious, whereas the other often conveys a message that would be too socially ...
s to suggest that she is naked with strategically placed items in the market until it reveals McKinney in a
bikini
A bikini is a two-piece swimsuit primarily worn by women that features two triangles of fabric on top that cover the breasts, and two triangles of fabric on the bottom: the front covering the pelvis but exposing the navel, and the back coveri ...
eating the All Natural Burger. Critics suggest that the ad "sets
feminism
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
back four decades," while others, including McKinney's elderly grandfather, enjoyed the ad. The ad now features Hardee's co-branding as the All Natural Burger is now offered by Hardee's. As of June 2016, Charlotte McKinney's "Au Natural" ad debut has garnered over 4.5 billion media impressions worldwide
and more than 13 million views on the chains' YouTube channel.
Carl Hardee Sr. campaign
In March 2017, Carl's Jr. released a commercial featuring a white-bearded character named Carl Hardee Sr. (played by
Charles Esten
Charles Esten Puskar III (born September 9, 1965), also known professionally as Charles Esten, and Chip Esten, is an American actor, musician and comedian.
Esten played the role of country singer Deacon Claybourne on the ABC/ CMT drama ''Nashvi ...
) who had come back into the office (much to the delight of the employees) to find his son Carl Jr. (
Drew Tarver
Andrew Tarver (born May 6, 1986) is an American actor and comedian from the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in Los Angeles. He is known for starring in the Seeso show '' Bajillion Dollar Propertie$'' and for his appearances on comedy podcasts, i ...
) who was focusing on sex appeal over its food. The commercial marked a turning point in CKE's advertising, claiming it wanted to move away from its provocative ads and focus more on food and as a competitor to
Five Guys
Five Guys Enterprises LLC (doing business as both Five Guys Burgers and Fries, and simply Five Guys) is an American fast food restaurant chain focused on hamburgers, hot dogs, and french fries, and headquartered in Lorton, Virginia, part of ...
,
Steak 'n Shake
Steak 'n Shake Operations, Inc. (doing business as Steak 'n Shake) is an American casual restaurant chain concentrated primarily in the Midwestern United States with locations also in the South, Mid-Atlantic and Western United States, Europe, ...
, and
In-N-Out Burger
In-N-Out Burger is an American regional chain of fast food restaurants with locations primarily in California and the Southwest. It was founded in Baldwin Park, California, in 1948 by Harry (1913–1976) and Esther Snyder (1920–2006). The cha ...
. "Carl Hardee Sr." is also expected to become the new company spokesperson. The campaign also introduced newer modernized logos for both Carl's Jr. and Hardee's.
The Call of Carl's campaign
In 2018, CKE resumed producing separate campaigns for their Hardee's and Carl's Jr. brands. For Carl's Jr., it started ''The Call of Carl's'' campaign featuring the voice of Academy Award-winning actor
Matthew McConaughey
Matthew David McConaughey ( ; born November 4, 1969) is an American actor. He had his breakout role with a supporting performance in the coming-of-age comedy '' Dazed and Confused'' (1993). After a number of supporting roles, his first succes ...
.
See also
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List of hamburger restaurants
This is a list of notable hamburger restaurants. A hamburger is a sandwich consisting of one or more cooked patties of ground meat (usually beef) usually placed inside a sliced hamburger bun. Hamburgers are often served with lettuce, bacon, tom ...
*
Hardee's
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*
References
External links
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{{Portalbar, Food, United States, Companies, Los Angeles, California
CKE Restaurants
Companies based in Anaheim, California
Economy of the Northwestern United States
Economy of the Southwestern United States
Fast-food chains of Australia
Fast-food chains of Singapore
Fast-food chains of the United States
Fast-food franchises
Fast-food hamburger restaurants
Regional restaurant chains in the United States
Restaurants established in 1941
Restaurants in Orange County, California
Restaurant chains in Singapore
1941 establishments in California