TV watchdog slams Carl's Jr. over racy Super Bowl ad for 'free hangover burger'
A parents advocacy group is sounding the alarm over a new Carl’s Jr. advertisement featuring TikTok influencer Alix Earle and the chain's return to its controversial history of sexually suggestive ad campaigns.
The 45-second ad, promoting the company’s post-Super Bowl “free hangover burger,” showcases Earle, 25, dressed in a revealing outfit as she struts through a neighborhood car wash before taking a bite of the oversized sandwich.
Scheduled to air on both traditional and streaming television ahead of the Super Bowl on Sunday, the commercial is already drawing backlash from watchdog organizations and family groups, including the Parents Television and Media Council (PTC) which urged parents to avoid the ad that's a throwback to the fast-food giant’s past racy campaigns.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
PTC Vice President Melissa Henson slammed the ad specifically for its “sexually suggestive imagery” which she likened to “soft core porn” and urged families to exercise viewer discretion before the Super Bowl.
“Using ‘soft core porn’ to sell burgers was Carl’s Jr.’s previous strategy years ago — and one we called out,” Henson said in a statement Thursday. “In 2017 the company appeared to have a change of heart, wisely realizing that strategy was ‘distracting.’ But like Hollywood‘s mindset of reviving old ideas, Carl’s Jr. must have dusted off its outdated playbook, forgetting that it alienated customers with its racy ad campaigns years ago.”
Henson’s statement referred to a 2017 decision by CKE Restaurants — the parent company of Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s — in which it publicly committed to keeping its ads family-friendly following a string of sexually-charged ads to promote its menu items, a strategy that first gained notoriety in the early 2000s.
The brand’s commercials, which frequently featured scantily clad models like Paris Hilton and Kate Upton eating burgers in provocative settings, were widely criticized as inappropriate for mainstream television, particularly during events watched by families, such as the Super Bowl.
It’s not the first time PTC has targeted Carl’s Jr. ads: in 2015, PTC slammed CKE for its “deviant ads” and “tired belief that ‘sex sells.’”
Christian advocacy group One Million Moms (1MM) led the fight against CKE’s racy ad campaigns, launching a petition to “Stop Hardee's and Carl's Jr. Sexually Charged Ads” — an effort that resulted in CKE dropping the campaign altogether.
"Carl's Jr. and Hardee's is re-steering its marketing to focus on food — a u-turn from its racy and offensive ads,” the group wrote in response to CKE’s decision. “Praise the Lord! Our voice has been heard. It is about time! 1MM was consistent and our diligence has paid off.”
The group previously complained that Hardee's and Carl's Jr. were disrespecting women with its commercial for the Bacon 3-Way Thickburger "Fantasy” in which three women wearing skimpy bikinis were licking sauce from the burger.
