SEEMS LIKE PARIS HILTON IS BETTER AT SELLING SIZZLE THAN BURGERS --- but maybe the beef about her spot turned up the heat on a new recipe for advertising on advertising?
Fast food chain Carls Jr sizzling Paris Hilton spots for their spicy burger got lots of people 'hot & bothered" in many different ways according to recent reports on CNN Money's site (see quotes below) But what is really surprising is that Carls Jr marketing people knew it was good business to join in on the controversy. To play fair -- here are two quotes from both sides back when the spots launched at the end of May: 
Click on photo to see more info on Carl Jr's Paris Hilton ad/the Paris Hilton Ad spoof & the company's commentary....
THE PARENT TELEVISION COUNCIL (PTC) SAYS:
This commercial is basically soft-core porn," said Melissa Caldwell, research director for the PTC. "The way she moves, the way she puts her finger in her mouth -- it's very suggestive and very titillating."
CARl's Jr. CEO SAYS:
Carl's Jr.'s message to the PTC: The group needs to "get a life," said Andy Puzder, CEO of Carl's Jr., a subsidiary of CKE Restaurants (Research). "This isn't Janet Jackson -- there is no nipple in this. There is no nudity, there is no sex acts -- it's a beautiful model in a swimsuit washing a car."
BUSINESS WEEK COLUMNIST SAY THEY ARE "DOING IT RIGHT" Why Carl's Jr. and Paris Hilton Are Doing It Right Check out columnist David Kiley's report from Chrysler on the new 70/30 principle -- if seems if 30-40 percent of your audience doesn't "dislike it" -- you're doing something wrong-- very fascinating theory in the mass marketing world that is going niche.
SMART CKE -- REPURPOSES PARIS -- AND GET MORE MARKETING MILEAGE: Check out these new additions to the Carl's Jr and Hardy's sites (Hardy's is on the East Coast for those of you out West). You'll find amazing additions including:
NEW CARL's JR HOME PAGE: VIRTUAL LIVING ROOM/Viral Marketing -- inside the MAN'S show --- CKE's
Click on photo to see the new home page from Carl's Jr which features virtual product placement, cool stuff and click-through's to the Paris Hilton Spoof & MORE...talking about GETTING IT.
VIRTUAL PRODUCT PLACEMENT: from Motorola to an Olevia flat screen TV -- check it out it plays upcoming movies from Warner Bros and New LIne Cinema as well as the Paris Hilton ad.
ADVERTISING ON ADVERTISING? --- VANs, MAXIM MAGAZINE AND NAPSTER are all advertising on the websit e-- YES -- they are ADVERTISING ON THE CARL'S JR WEBSITE
CLUB PARIS : the website also features a cyber-wallet containing a CLUB PARIS virtual napkin. Check out the link to www.gorejected.com BRILLIANT tie-in.
BUT DID IT SELL BURGERS??? See what ABC News.com has to say on June 29: Carl's Jr. restaurants, which created a stir when it aired a television commercial featuring the scantily clad Hilton washing a Bentley and chowing down on the restaurant's massive Spicy BBQ Six Dollar Burger, reported only a 1.7 percent increase in same-store sales for the most recent four-week period, below analyst expectations
FULL DISCLOSURE: This blogger Joyce Schwarz also writes on advertising and emerging entertainment/tech and media for imediaconnection.com, she has a backgrond as a top exec for such agencies as Foote Cone & Belding & other agencies. Schwarz was a founding member of WOMEN IN ADVERTISING in San Francisco and does seminars on how women are portrayed in advertising...but a blog is a 2-way street--- so we want your opinions too. Too shy to post-- email me at [email protected].
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