The Ad Campaign
Starting in 2005 Carl's Jr. decided to completely reestablish themselves in the eyes of the public and bring more attention to their brand and food. They did this by starting to use scantily clad women in their ads. Carl's Jr.'s ads would picture beautiful women biting a burger when wearing nothing but a bikini. Andy Puzder, the CEO of CKE productions said, "At one point in time, we were using 'Sports Illustrated' swimsuit models". Carl's Jr. opted to use the sexual appeal of women to boost the number of people watching their ads. They did this to attract their main customer base of 18 to 35-year-old men. By adding attractive women to their ads Carl's Jr. successfully added a new appeal to there burgers which drove up revenue and traffic on the Carl's Jr. website.
Paris Hilton and the Spicy Burger
Paris Hilton's first commercial for Carl's Jr. came out in early 2005. The commercial was for Carl's Jr. spicy burger. The video featured Paris Hilton in a very revealing swimsuit washing a Bentley. Paris Hilton is seen pouring and rubbing soapy water over herself and taking the occasional bite of a burger. In reaction to this ad, Melissa Calwell came out and called the ad "soft-core porn" to which the CEO of CKE responded telling Calwell to, "get a life" and that "This isn't Janet Jackson -- there is no nipple in this. There is no nudity, there is no sex acts -- it's a beautiful model in a swimsuit washing a car". Even the CEO doesn't say that Carl's Jr. ad is advertising the burger, he says that the advertisement is a beautiful woman washing a car. By objectifying the female form Carl's Jr was able to boost their sales.
Drive-In - Kate Upton
Kate Upton did her first Carl's Jr. ad in 2012. This ad featured Kate Upton in a short dress with stockings. This ad has generated over half a billion impressions worldwide and 4.5 million views on youtube. This ad was filmed as directly before it was announced that Kate Upton would be the cover model for Sports Illustrated, thereby boosting the anticipation for the advertisement.
Carl's Jr.'s Foreign Campaign
As Carl's Jr continued to expand they released an ad in New Zealand. The ad was eventually banned for being sexually explicit and degrading. Carl's Jr's response to this was to release an even racier radio spot. The ad was taken down because New Zealand officials felt that using sex to sell an unrelated product was unacceptable. The same thing happened when Carl's Jr expanded to Australia. The ad featured Gemie Howe and it brought up the same comments and outrage as previously seen in New Zealand.
The All-Natural Burger
The Carl's Jr. super bowl ad in 2015 is especially egregious. The ad featured Charlotte McKinney walking through a framer's market naked. As she walks through the market she talks about how going all-natural is so much better. The ad was targeted at millennials who were looking for an all-natural option while still keeping to Carl's Jr.'s ideas of objectifying women in order to boost burger sales.