Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s Announce Total Destruction of Old Ad Campaign Relics: Watch “The Purge,” Live on Twitch
Fast food pioneers and web giant partner for two hours of epic,
viewer-driven mayhem
FRANKLIN, Tenn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Today, CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc. (“CKE”), parent company of Carl’s
Jr.® and Hardee’s®
restaurant chains, announce a branded activation with social video
platform, Twitch,
so massively explosive that it couldn’t be contained by a sound stage,
taped-off city block, or, if we’re being honest, any location inhabited
by living creatures within a five-mile radius. Safety first, right?
Now that “Carl Hardee Sr.” is in, and his son “Jr.” is out, it’s time
for “Carl Hardee Sr.” to usher in a new day at his namesake brands by
purging iconic relics of the recent past — which, in this case, means
props from the company’s former provocative ad campaigns. 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 they’re calling on some loveable, yet diabolical,
denizens of the internet for help.
Seem too good to be true? Take a look at this: Sneak
peek teaser video
This fully interactive, literally explosive event, aptly titled, “The
Purge,” will stream LIVE on Twitch’s homepage on Saturday, April 8 from
2 p.m.– 4 p.m. PDT.
After gaining mainstream notoriety for over a decade as the “bikinis and
burgers” brands, Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s have completely revamped their
advertising and marketing direction, shirking its image as provocateurs
in favor of one as relentless pioneers — “Pioneers of the Great American
Burger,” to be exact.
“Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s new advertising direction is all about our
brands’ pioneering spirits, and that has always extended beyond just the
food we serve in our restaurants,” said Brad Haley, chief marketing
officer for CKE. “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.”
To kick their new era of advertising off with a—literal—bang, Carl’s Jr.
and Hardee’s are bringing their two new commercial stars “Carl Hardee
Sr.” (Charles
Esten) and “Carl Hardee Jr.” (Drew
Tarver) out to the California desert to physically demolish iconic
remnants of the brand’s advertising past. The best part? Viewers of the
broadcast will be able to vote live on how they want those things to be
demolished or “purged.” Whether it’s perhaps by a rocket launcher, Jr.’s
estranged ex-girlfriend wielding a baseball bat or even a forklift truck
mauling, they’re giving viewers the keys to their armory and letting
them go full on super-villain-rampage mode. No pressure, or anything.
As an added bonus, the event will be co-hosted by world-famous YouTube
stars, “The
Slow Mo Guys,” who will both perform their own demolitions, and
capture instant replays (to be shown during the live broadcast) in super
slow motion. Because, as everyone knows, the only thing more satisfying
than watching things blow up, is watching things blow up slowly to a
kick-ass soundtrack.
“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,” said Jason Norcross, partner and executive creative
Director at 72andSunny. “We’re taking representations of the past out to
a remote location, and ceremoniously blowing it all up for everyone to
see. We’ve partnered with Twitch to give people the chance to play along
and decide just how ‘Carl Hardee Sr.’ and ‘Carl Hardee Jr.’ destroy each
relic. 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.”
“The Purge” will serve as CKE’s second partnership with Twitch in recent
months, as the two brands previously joined forces to produce the gaming
industry’s first series of live ads, which were featured during a
72-hour livestream to epically launch Vice’s gaming-focused website, Waypoint.
Follow Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s on Facebook (www.facebook.com/carlsjr and www.facebook.com/hardees),
Twitter (@CarlsJr and @Hardees)
and Instagram (@CarlsJr and @Hardees)
for the latest product news and promotional offers. Download the Super
Star® Rewards app from the iTunes
Store and Google
Play and check in to redeem Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s products on the
spot, save points for a high-value reward, check out the full menu, and
use the store locator to find any Carl’s Jr. or Hardee’s in the U.S.
About CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc.
CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc. (“CKE”) is a privately held company
headquartered in Franklin, TN. CKE is not a franchisor and conducts
substantially all of its restaurant activities and operations through
its subsidiaries. Carl’s Jr. Restaurants LLC and Hardee’s Restaurants
LLC own, operate and franchise the Carl’s Jr., Hardee’s, Green Burrito®
and Red Burrito® concepts. Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s operate as one brand
under two names, acknowledging the rich regional heritage of both
banners. After opening their first New York and New Jersey restaurants
in 2015 and recent international openings in Chile, Cambodia and Kenya,
Carl’s Jr. Restaurants LLC and Hardee’s Restaurants LLC now have over
3,800 franchised or company-operated restaurants in 44 states and 41
foreign countries and U.S. territories. Known for its one-of-a-kind
premium menu items such as 100 percent Black Angus Thickburgers®, Made
from Scratch™ Biscuits and Hand-Breaded Chicken Tenders™, as well as an
award-winning marketing approach, the Carl’s Jr./Hardee’s brand
continues to deliver substantial and consistent growth in the U.S. and
overseas. The Carl’s Jr./Hardee’s system is now 94 percent franchised,
with international restaurants representing 21 percent of the system.
For more information about CKE, please visit www.ckr.com
or its brand sites at www.carlsjr.com
and www.hardees.com.
About Twitch
Twitch is
the world’s leading social video platform and community for gamers. Each
day, millions of community members gather to watch, talk, and chat about
shared interests. Twitch’s video platform is the backbone of both live
and on-demand distribution for all types of content, including the
entire video game ecosystem, the creative arts, vlogging (IRL), and
more. Twitch also runs TwitchCon,
the annual convention for celebrating the Twitch community. For more
information about Twitch, visit our Press
Center, Twitter
feed (#Twitch), and Blog.
Contacts
On behalf of CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc.
Coast Public Relations
Kate
Franklin, 818-606-9784
kate@coastprgroup.com
or
Twitch
Chase,
415-810-0995
PR Director
chase@twitch.tv
@chasejustchase
