Whether it's the most successful fast-food commercial since Wendy's Clara Peller asked "Where's the Beef" remains to be seen. But Carl's Jr. executives are reportedly thrilled at the early success of the new burger-and-Bordeaux commercial starring Joe, Phil, Gavin and George Maloof.
"The ad's been spectacular for us. I can't think of an ad where I've had this much fun," Andrew F. Puzder, president and chief executive officer of CKE Restaurants, parent company of Carl's Jr., told the Sacramento Bee in Saturday's editions. Carl's Jr. has had a spotty history of ad campaigns (the use of Paris Hilton, who multitasked while simultaneously washing a car and gobbling a burger, was not particularly well received), but Puzder said he has received positive feedback.
The commercial shows the Maloof brothers mowing down on Six Dollar Burgers (which actually go for $3.99), fries and a 24-year-old bottle of Bordeaux while relaxing in a Palms suite with several attractive women milling about. The meal is called the "$6,000 combo meal."
The company declined to specify sales of the Six Dollar Burger since the ad began running earlier this month, but the most recent overall monthly report shows a 7-percent increase in sales from the same period last year.
However, even with the positive response, some Sacramento residents and business owners have decried the commercial's gaudy message. The Maloofs also own the Sacramento Kings (yes, making them burger Kings) and are in the process of asking local voters to help finance a new arena for the NBA franchise.
Thus, an ad in which the brothers flaunt their vast wealth while eating hamburgers is a little hard for some to ... digest.
NoteMart
Reports out of Australia are that, over the weekend at Wynn Las Vegas, Steve Wynn met with James Packer, son of the late Kerry Packer who has reportedly become Australia's richest man after his father's death in December. In March the younger Packer (who is 39 and a frequenter of Australia's gossip columns) purchased a gaming sub-concession in Maca u from Wynn for $900 million. At the time, Packer expressed interest in teaming with Wynn on other unspecified business opportunities, which is likely the reason for the weekend confab in Vegas. Packer operates his father's old company, Publishing and Broadcasting Licensing (PBL), which owns Australia's Channel 9 TV station and the majority of magazines and newspapers in the country, among a number of gambling interests ...
University Chancellor Jim Rogers added to his vast automobile collection at Friday night's "Concert for Autism Speaks" fundraiser at the Mandalay Bay Theatre. Rogers' bid of $55,000 was the highest for a 2007 Cadillac CTS Sport. Jay Leno and Natalie Cole headlined the event; Tom Brokaw was the emcee ...
Alan Stock's new partner on the KXNT AM-840 morning show, Kerri Kasem, put her famous father, Casey K asem, on the air on her first day of work last Tuesday. But the famous surname was not the reason Kerri Kasem was hired, KXNT Program Director Jack Landreth said last week. "She filled in for Heidi (Harris) five weeks ago and we loved her. She's grown up around radio and that made a difference. She's earned this job." ...
Las Vegas teen Hillary Hindi is on the cusp of fame. She is one of five finalists who have beaten out 240,000 applicants in a nationwide casting search for AOL Red's "Be a Red Star" contest for aspiring filmmakers. Hindi, 16, is the daughter of Metro Police officer Robert Hindi, entered a self-produced video of a "reality" show where she portrays several Johnny Depp characters, and that clip put her in the top five. She has since been filmed by a professional crew in various Las Vegas locations. That video, along with the other four finalists, will be on the Internet at www.bearedstar.com. Those who visit that site can vote for their favorite video, and whoever finishes with the most votes beginning today through Friday wins a cash prize and will have his or her own web show as well as possible television contracts ...
Word from William B's at the Stardust is that the fine-dining restaurant will remain open right up until 3 p.m. on Nov. 1, when the hotel itself closes forever. The wait staff remains in good spirits, as it showed during a full-throated rendition of "Happy Birthday to You" for a guest on Friday night ...
A gold Chrysler 300 heading west on Interstate 215 boasted the vanity plate FUN2BME.
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