CARPINTERIA Calif. Carl's Jr. has discontinued an ad campaign for its Chicken Parmesan Sandwich after the mob-theme promotions drew protests from two Italian-American advocacy groups.
Late last week the California Italian-American Task Force and the National Italian-American Federation praised CKE's decision not to extend the media buy for ads, which were developed by agency Mendelsohn Zien. The commercials for the new sandwich, which ran prominently during the World Series, featured mobster and garbage men characters that the advocacy groups said depicted Italian-Americans in a negative, stereotypical light.
CKE also put an end to a branded Facebook application where customers could take a quiz to determine which "made guy" their personalities matched.
"NIAF was pleased to see the positive steps taken by Carl's Jr. Restaurant to remove negative, inaccurate and unfair characterizations in their recent commercial advertisements," said Jeff Capaccio, the group's regional vice president for the Far West. "These advertisements only fuel further incorrect assumptions about an entire ethnic group. The foundation is committed to promoting a positive image of Italian-Americans and removing falsehoods that perpetuate ethnic, racial and other discrimination."
CKE has provoked the ire of several interest groups over the years with raunchy or edgy ads aimed at young male viewers. The Parents Television Council has expressed disapproval repeatedly over the years for Mendelsohn Zien-created ads for Carl's Jr. and Hardee's featuring scantily clad women eating burgers, including Paris Hilton, Audrina Partridge and Padma Lakshmi.
In July, the parents group also publicly praised North Carolina-based Boddie-Noell Enterprises, the country's largest Hardee's franchisee, for opting out of an innuendo-laced Hardee's campaign called "Name Our Holes," where the chain in its commercials asked customers to name a new Biscuit Holes item and discovered gems like "bis-ticles" and "melting nuts."
CKE officials said that the company tries to remain receptive to criticism and objections to its advertising.
"CKE Restaurants Inc., parent company of Carl's Jr. and Hardee's restaurants, adopts a creative approach to our advertising," said Beth Mansfield, director of public relations for Carpinteria-based CKE. "It is intended to communicate the core message of our premium-quality food to our target audience of 'young, hungry guys.' We do not aim to exclude or offend any other groups with our efforts, but merely to appeal to and amuse a very specific audience. We understand that not everyone may view our advertising the same way, so we respect all views and welcome comments and feedback.
"To this end, we have decided to not extend our current media buy for the Parmesan Chicken Sandwich," she continued. "The commercials may still appear infrequently in limited markets, as stations sometimes give us Ôbonus' airings, but the ad campaign formally ended Sunday, November 8."
CKE operates or franchises 1,212 Carl's Jr. restaurants and 1,915 Hardee's locations in 42 states and 14 countries.
Contact Mark Brandau at [email protected].
