Guest Commentary
from Bill Saracino
Printer Friendly version
'All
about sales'
Hamburger Porn
Following Parents Television Council protest, publicly defiant
Carl's Jr. nonetheless reins in its lascivious ad campaign.
Someone much wiser than I once said that
culture is degraded one thin piece at a time, much like a salami is
sliced. Eventually, though, you end up at the end of the salami and at
the end of the culture, with nothing left.
The once admirable hamburger chain Carl's Jr. took it's slice out of
American culture recently with an advertising campaign featuring
generation X's bimbo du jour Paris Hilton. For those of you lucky
enough to have missed it, the ad features the scandal-prone airhead
heiress, clad in the skimpiest of bikinis, erotically sudsing down a car
and herself ... all while holding a hamburger. Even though it is
soft-core porn by any definition, the ad first started running as early
as 8 o'clock, when millions of very young eyes are still glued to the
tube.
As a young boy I washed my parent's cars -- and later my own --
countless times. Never do I remember being dumb enough to attempt the
feat while simultaneously eating a hamburger. But of course this
commercial is not about logic or common sense. It's about selling a
product, no matter what impression might be made on young minds or what
damage might be done to the overall tenor of American culture and life.
That the current management of Carl's Jr. cares not a whit about
anything but making a fast, cheap buck was confirmed by their reaction
to protests launched by the Parent's Television Council, the country's
premier TV watchdog organization (disclosure: I spent two years as the
group's COO a while back). Following protests about both the content of
the commercial and the early hour at which it aired, Andy Puzder, CEO of
Carl's parent company CKE Restaurants, expressed a public-be-damned
response.
He said those offended by the ads should "get a life," and needed to
realize that "this is an attempt to sell hamburgers. If this ad
increases sales, I'd choose her again." Then, as if to drive home the
point that he is no more than a soulless bean counter, Mr. Puzder said,
"It's all about sales."
What happens, I wonder, when someone tells Mr. Puzder about the
interest some 18-to- 24-year-old males (the ads' targets) hold for
skinhead neo-Nazi groups, or for drowning newborn kittens, or watching
human snuff films? Will we then be treated to Carl's Jr. happily serving
up such ghoulish spectacles in 30 second increments, instructed that
"it's all about sales," and scolded for failing, yet again, to "get a
life"?
Though refusing to back down publicly, the PTC-led nationwide protest
seems to be having an effect. The ads were pulled from the west coast
June 13. Scheduled to start in the east this week, their time buys
apparently begin at 9 p.m. Little or no credit should be accorded Carl's
Jr. and Minister of Cultural Destruction Puzder for these moves, taken
only under duress and unaccompanied by any admission they were wrong in
the first place. On the contrary, the insults to those objecting to the
ad continue.
It is a sad legacy for CKE (the acronym stands for Carl Karcher
Enterprises). Carl Karcher was -- and is; he's still with us -- one of
California's finest and grandest entrepreneurs. Starting with one stand,
he built Carl's Jr. into a nationwide network of quality fast food
restaurants. He and his wife Margaret are exceptionally generous
benefactors of a wide range of charities and political causes. They were
among Ronald Reagan's earliest supporters. I've met them only in
passing, but they are among the noblest examples of the American success
story California has to offer.
But Karcher lost control of CKE some years ago in what amounted to a
palace coup and the chickens have now come home to roost. It is bitterly
ironic that the enterprise started by a deeply religious, patriotic
couple has now become a battering ram slammed by venal, boorish men into
the sensibilities of the average American family. But what is that to
Mr. Puzder? It's all about sales.
You can check out the PTC campaign at their website:
www.parentstv.org. Or you can tell Mr. Puzder what you think
directly, writing him at:
apuzder@ckr.com. If that email is blocked you can send a missive to:
pr@ckr.com.
And you can join me at In-And-Out-Burgers.
William E. Saracino is a member of California Political
Review's editorial board.
Article originally printed at
http://cppf.us/OnlineOriginals/Columns/2005/06June05/063005WS.html
