Commentary by Tim Horrigan, March 15,
2007 (revised May 7, 2007 & December 31, 2008)
Back in 2004, there was a silly
controversy over Paris Hilton's "soft porn" cheeseburger
commercial for the California-based Carls
Jr. chain. The commercial showed America's
favorite bimbo in a bikini washing a Bentley while also eating a
huge jalapeño cheesburger (and amazingly she fails to get the
burger wet even as she gets everything else wet, including the lens
of the camera.)
When
I was a student at USC
in the mid-1980s, the West Coast-based Carls
Jr. chain was one of my favorite fast food joints. At the time,
Carls Jr. was best-known for the innovative concept of fast food
which actually tasted like food. Now they also seem to be known for
edgy commercials. The most infamous ad was this one. The ostensible
connection between the endorser and the product is that she is hot
and the burger is hot as well (thanks to "fried jalapeños,
onion rings, and lots of barbeque sauce.") Judging by how thin
she is, she hasn't eaten very many of these things.
The ad has been denounced as "soft-core porn." I frankly
wasn't aware that soft-core porn deserved to be denounced. (By the
way, my novel The
Forgotten Liars has a few mildly smutty passages, but no
Spicy BBQ burgers. Though the characters do enjoy plenty of
Sandwiches
Cubanos.)
Ironically, this ad is one of Carl Jr.'s milder ones. (Click
here to see some others.) The basic marketing concept behind the
ads is that Carls Jr. is the place for Young Guys on the Go who need
good hot food right now. This concept kind of leaves out Gals on the
Go. However, it's good that at least one fast-food chain is something
more than just another wholesome place to take your kid's soccer team
for a post-practice treat.
In any case, Paris Hilton is overexposed (in more than one sense
of the word) but at least it is a reasonably cute person this time
who is being overexposed... And eventually she will go the way of the
Spice Girls...
Carls Jr. used to have a whole SpicyParis.com
web site with all sorts of collateral on it. But then things changed,
and that address redirected you to SpicyBuffalo.com,
where a totally new hawt blonde ( Maxim
grrl Ashley Hartman) was promoting a totally new sandwich. This
may or may not have anything to do with the (slightly ironic) fact
that Paris's
legal difficulties began when she got busted for drunk driving
while en route to a rival burger joint, i.e., In-N-Out
Burger.
Now both Ashley and Paris have parted
ways with Carls Jr. (and its sister chain Hardees.) The newer ads now
emphasize what a good value Carls Jr.'s burgers and fries are.
The commercial itself is still on the
internet, in the original 30-second version (as seen on TV) and an
expanded 60-second version
Something which has nothing at all to do with Paris
Hilton, which I will add to this page anyway,
is a funny ad from
their "fake restaurant" series featuring a nasal-voiced woman who
sneers at Carls Jr. and their awful commercials, while obliviously
enjoying a tasty Six Dollar Burger.
When
I was a student at USC
in the mid-1980s, the West Coast-based Carls
Jr. chain was one of my favorite fast food joints. At the time,
Carls Jr. was best-known for the innovative concept of fast food
which actually tasted like food. Now they also seem to be known for
edgy commercials. The most infamous ad was this one. The ostensible
connection between the endorser and the product is that she is hot
and the burger is hot as well (thanks to "fried jalapeños,
onion rings, and lots of barbeque sauce.") Judging by how thin
she is, she hasn't eaten very many of these things.
Something which has nothing at all to do with 
