ST. LOUIS Hardee's said it has rolled out a smaller and cheaper version of its popular Thickburger in an effort to appeal to customers who are cutting back.
The $1.99 Little Thickburger is made with a quarter-pound Black Angus beef patty, compared with the third-pound original Thickburger and the two-thirds-pound Monster Thickburger. Like the original, the Little Thickburger is topped with cheese, lettuce, tomato, diced red onions, mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard and pickles.
Hardee's is supporting the Little Thickburger rollout with a series of humorous ads that compare the new offering to the original Thickburger. "If a Thickburger packs a punch," one ad says, "this one's a kick to the shins." The ads, which were created by Mendelsohn/Zien of Los Angeles, can be seen here.
Hardee's, a 1,917-unit division of CKE Restaurants Inc., introduced the Thickburger five years ago. Along with its sister chain, Carl's Jr., Hardee's has kept its marketing focus on its premium sandwiches, even as competitors roll out 99-cent offerings. In a conference call with investors earlier this month, CKE officials said both brands would look for ways to appeal to cost-conscious consumers without resorting to deeply discounted value menus.
Brad Haley, Hardee's marketing executive vice president, said in a statement on Monday that the Little Thickburgers were created for people who complained that the original Thickburgers "were either too big or too expensive to order as much as they would like, particularly in this challenging economic environment."