Carl’s Jr. (Finally) Ditches Bikinis to Sell Burgers

The times, they are a-changing. Carl’s Jr. is ditching those (in)famous bikini ads and embracing a new ad campaign, spokesperson, and look, saying “food, not boobs.” Will wonders never cease…

Related: Heinz Takes Inspiration from Mad Men in Latest Ad

For the last 15 years, Carl’s Jr. ads have featured a steady stream of beautiful ladies wearing very little and suggestively biting into dripping burgers. :::eye roll::: Now, they’re being replaced by a totally new ad campaign that makes fun of those “slutburger” ads and instead focuses on the company’s history and plans for the future.

It’s about time, right? In 2015, customer surveys showed that people found that ads “offensive” or “irritating” and though the company’s former CEO (and failed labor secretary nominee) Andy Puzder said, “We believe in putting hot models in our commercials, because ugly ones don’t sell burgers,” it seems the company is finally ready to move away from that totally offensive and unappetizing campaign.

The new ad cheekily features Charles Esten (of Nashville fame), as Carl Sr., taking back the company from his son, Carl Jr. (the immature imp responsible for those ads), and turning the focus away from bikini-clad ladies and back onto the food.

They have a new tagline, “Pioneers of the great American burger”, and the first ad goes over the company’s history, mentioning they broke ground in the industry with made-from-scratch biscuits and grass fed beef.

Though according to Adweek the target audience remains young men, they brand wants to shift direction and focus away from sex and onto ingredients and sourcing, ultimately showing they’re a lower priced choice of “fancier” burger chains like Shake Shack.

The video is fun and worth watching. And for what it’s worth Puzder resigned from his CEO post just last week, making this shift in brand a little more believable. A bikini never inspired us to buy a burger (and neither did a CEO with such questionable views). Let’s see if this does the trick.