Facebook's IPO Debacle, Day 3: Un-Friended and Dis-Liked on Wall…
Former Olympic Rower Turned to Minimalism to Pay Down $82,000 in Debt
This post is part of our Ads Gone Bad series. Share your thoughts and memories of this ad in the comments, and be sure to check out our other posts on marketing gone wrong.
In 2005, CKE Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: CKR) outraged both social conservatives and lovers of music at the same time when its Carl's Jr. chain hired Paris Hilton to shill its new Spicy Burger. It set a new standard of tastelessness that will be difficult to equal.
Conservatives -- most Americans actually -- find the fact that Paris Hilton is famous at all to be a offensive. Her main claim to fame comes from her appearance in a now-infamous sex tape. The appeal of her one-time hit show The Simple Life eluded me, but hey, I was not the target demographic. I am a 40-year-old married guy so I can't speak to her numerous other enterprises, such as the perfume Heiress. Her single "Stars Are Blind" was not as awful as I thought it would be, but maybe I have gone tone deaf listening to too many Elmo songs. Parents of toddlers will understand.
It is against this backdrop that we should analyze the notorious Carl's advertisement. On one level it was a brilliant ad. It features the star of "The Hottie and the Nottie" clad in a bikini writhing in ecstasy as she washes a car while Cole Porter's "I Love Paris" blares in the background. The pairing of Cole Porter and Paris Hilton was freakin' brilliant in and of itself. The late composer was probably turning in his grave knowing that his song, which debuted in the 1953 musical Can Can, was massacred in such a way.
Critics of the commercial, including the Parents Television Council, labeled it "soft-core porn." To his credit, the head of CKE told his critics to buzz off. "Maybe people are excited because it's Paris Hilton, but there are far worse things on television that these groups should be worried about," CKE head Andy Puzder told CNN. He added that his three children saw the ad and suffered no ill effects.
The same can't be said for CKE. Shares are down about 20% since the Hilton ad appeared. A major shareholder recently called on the parent of Carl's Jr. to reduce capital spending and cut operating costs to improve free cash flow. If the results do not improve. Puzder may have to hit up Hilton for a job.
| Very offended | |
|---|---|
| A little offended | |
| Not offended | |
| I like it! |
See other examples of Ads Gone Bad.
Goldman Earnings Sink After Buffett Dividend
Johnson & Johnson's Income Falls 23%
Burberry Shares Leap on Sales Update
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 2)
11-19-2008 @ 11:25AM
Pat said...
Excellent ad. The photography was superb, the color coordination was excellent, and Paris was smoking hot in the ad. Sure beats hundreds of other ads. Thanks to Carl Jrs. for making such a beautiful ad. Those "offended" by it can just switch the channel.