|
|
 ‘All about sales’ Hamburger Porn Following Parents Television Council protest, publicly defiant Carl’s Jr. nonetheless reins in its lascivious ad campaign. William E. Saracino is a member of California Political Review’s editorial board. Printer Friendly version 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 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.
|
CPRSearch
California Political Review Coming soon CPR BACK ISSUES in PDF format CPR Online
State Political News Sources
|
||||
Copyright
© 2005 by The California Public Policy Foundation,
publisher of California Political Review and CPR Online
Post Office Box 931, Camarillo, CA 93011 | 805/445-9483 | calprev@cppf.us
Subscribe to California Political Review: click here
the end of the culture, with nothing left.
