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Parents Television Council - Because Our Children Are Watching

TV ADS: ADVERTISER AND NETWORK CAMPAIGN

Issue: Carl's Jr Ad featuring Paris Hilton

Content: Paris Hilton in a small bathing suit lathering herself up and posing in a sexual manner. Sexual suggestion using soap lather and water hose. Click here to view the video. CAUTION: This ad is extremely graphic and sexually explicit.

Airs: Aired during primetime TV on the West Coast where Carl's Jr. stores operate. Aired during 8pm broadcast of American Idol. Ads were pulled from West Coast on June 13th, 2005.

Began airing the week of June 27th, 2005 in the mid-west and southeast to promote Hardee's restaurants.

Position Statement: The Paris Hilton/Carl's Jr. commercial is nothing but a sleazy attempt on Carl's Jr. part to make money selling burgers with pornography. If this television commercial were to go unchallenged it would set a new standard for acceptable television commercial content. Therefore we must let our voices be heard.

The Parents Television Council has not yet filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission because the content does not appear to meet the legal standards for indecency as defined by Congress and as interpreted by the FCC. That said, we are not discouraging the public from filing FCC indecency complaints if they feel it violates their community standards.

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Brent Bozell on ABC's Good Morning America Click here to Watch! CNN's American Morning Click here to Watch! NBC's The Today Show Click here to Watch!

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06.03.05 - Parents Television Council outraged over raunchy Hardee's ad - The State Journal-Register

05.24.05 - Critics are saying 'That's Too Hot' of sexy Carl's Jr. ad - The LA Times

 

PTC to Carl's Jr./Hardees: Once Again, Paris Hilton Ad Doesn't Pay

(09.06.05) The PTC responded to the news that the Paris Hilton television ad campaign did nothing to help Carl's Jr. and Hardee's profits for the year—in fact, the Associated Press has reported that "sales at restaurants open at least a year were flat at Carl's Jr., while Hardee's same-store sales fell 1 percent, well below last year's increases of 6.4 percent and 6.1 percent, respectively." In addition, Carl's Jr. stock price has fallen approximately 30% since the Paris Hilton ad first aired.

"Once again we see the evidence that Carl's Jr. and Hardee's racy Paris Hilton ad failed to increase sales. It's laughable that they continue to claim the ad was a ‘success,' said L. Brent Bozell, president of the Parents Television Council.

"The soft porn Paris Hilton ad has alienated millions of families and exposed millions of children to raunchy content that has no place on television during primetime hours.

"In corporate America today, there is a tragic mentality that corporate leaders must choose between profit and integrity. This should be a clear lesson to other companies: raunchy advertising just doesn't pay," concluded Bozell.

Guest Commentary: Hamburger Porn By Bill Saracino

"Despite the whirlwind of publicity generated by its Paris Hilton ad, the controversial spot does not appear to have significantly increased Carl's Jr. restaurant sales."

"Analysts and industry watchers were expecting much higher returns in the wake of the worldwide attention paid to Carl's Jr. and its Spicy Barbecue burger courtesy of Ms. Hilton's erotic car-washing escapade in the ad."

At least one analyst has downgraded CKE shares after the company reported lower-than-expected earnings yesterday despite higher sales. Ad Age, 06/28/05

PTC Calls Paris Hilton Ad for Carl's Jr./Hardees Ultimate Example of Corporate Irresponsibility

"This blatant sexually charged ad has no place on the public airwaves, and especially when children are in the audience. Carl's Jr./Hardees need to be held responsible for marketing their raunchy, sexually graphic ad to millions of children via broadcast television and at the Carl's Jr./Hardees' web sites without any restrictions," said L. Brent Bozell, president of the PTC. >> more

 

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