Popularity of Grilled Cheese Bacon Burgers at Carl’s Jr.

Leads to Introduction at Hardee’s

ST. LOUIS, Mo. – February 22, 2010 – Everyone could use a little more comfort these days. And just like when mom used to make her delicious grilled cheese sandwiches to ease your childhood setbacks, Carl’s Jr.^® and Hardee’s^® are offering some comfort food for grown-ups. Grilled Cheese Bacon Burgers, launched at Carl’s Jr. in late January, feature all of the taste and comfort of those youthful grilled cheese sandwiches, but with the addition of a delicious charbroiled burger and bacon. This combination of two all-American classics has resonated so well with guests in Carl’s Jr. markets, that the Grilled Cheese Bacon Thickburger^® is being introduced into sister-chain Hardee’s markets beginning today.

“The Grilled Cheese Bacon Burgers evolved from our efforts to make a really good grilled cheese sandwich for our vegetarian customers,” said Brad Haley, executive vice president of marketing at CKE Restaurants. “Being known for our decadent burgers, we just had to see how it tasted with a charbroiled burger and bacon on it, and the result was really, really yummy.   With all the dismal economic news today, it may be that this combination of two classic, all-American comfort foods just seems to hit the spot right now.”

“The Comfort Place”

To extend the comforting goodness of the Grilled Cheese Bacon Burgers, both Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. are embarking on a digital campaign to provide even more solace to their customers, especially their core fans of “Young, Hungry guys.” Because guys need comfort, too, starting today, visitors to the Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s Facebook pages can visit the new interactive application designed to provide a bit of comfort when they need it the most.

Fans can choose to comfort themselves or a friend when activating “The Comfort Place,” an application which will post comforting messages to the designated Facebook wall for a 24-hour period. Comfort comes in the form of cheesy songs (“Love Sandwich”), words of wisdom and motivational pep talks (“You smell incredible right now. Just incredible.”), audio sound bytes (sounds of bacon sizzling), soothing photos (frolicking kittens) and humorous videos (levitating “Burguru”). Users can also invite friends to gather at their local Carl’s Jr. or Hardee’s for a Comfort Session where they can take full advantage of their access to exclusive rewards and discounts on the Grilled Cheese Bacon Burgers.   

Comfort Sweepstakes

Additionally, today also launches a 5-week sweepstakes on each brand’s respective Facebook page. Each page will give away two (2) Comfort Packages a week, ending on March 26^th. The Comfort Package consists of a Happy Star™ branded Slanket^®, comfortable slippers, a universal remote, a Carl’s Jr. or Hardee’s gift card and a shiatsu electronic massager. One entry per fan. Contest rules are available on the Sweepstakes tab at www.facebook.com/carlsjr and www.facebook.com/hardees.

“The ‘Comfort Place’ Facebook application and sweepstakes are another way we are reaching out to our customers online,” said Brad Rosenberg, Manager of Digital Strategy and Marketing at CKE Restaurants. ”We don’t want to just broadcast messages. We aim to interact, provide fun, sharable content, and offer our fans exclusive deals and sweepstakes that they won’t find anywhere else.”

The Grilled Cheese Bacon Thickburgers feature a charbroiled 100% Black Angus beef patty, crispy bacon and four slices of melted American and Swiss cheeses on grilled sourdough bread. It is available at Hardee’s in Little Thickburger, Original Thickburger, or Six Dollar Thickburger sizes, with a starting price of $2.79. Prices may vary by location.

Commercials supporting the Grilled Cheese Bacon Thickburger will begin airing in Hardee’s markets on March 1. The entertaining ads were created by Los Angeles-based advertising agency, Mendelsohn|Zien, the agency behind many iconic ads for Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s. They can be viewed on both brands’ YouTube channels (www.youtube.com/carlsjr and www.youtube.com/hardees). Fans can also access the chains’ sometimes-cheesy status updates via Twitter at www.twitter.com/carlsjr and www.twitter.com/hardees.

About CKE Restaurants, Inc.

Headquartered in Carpinteria, Calif., CKE Restaurants, Inc. is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “CKR.” As of the end of its fiscal 2010 third quarter, CKE Restaurants, Inc., through its subsidiaries, had a total of 3,147 franchised, licensed or company-operated restaurants in 42 states and in 14 countries, including 1,221 Carl's Jr. restaurants and 1,913 Hardee's restaurants. For more information about CKE Restaurants, please visit www.ckr.com.   

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By Shayna Glick

Do you remember that McDonald's chicken biscuit deal from last week, where they were handing out free samples? Well, it turns out that Hardee's was a bit miffed about that.

Hardee's says that they've had the best chicken biscuit since 1972, and they're out to prove it. So from now until June 30, you can get the purchase price refunded if you don't agree that the Hardee's chicken biscuit is the best one out there. According to one company spokesman, Hardee's is pretty confident that they won't be refunding much money.

I haven't had a Hardee's biscuit in so long I can't even count the years, but I do remember them being delicious. On the other hand, I had a McDonald's chicken biscuit a couple years ago when they first came out, and I thought it was horrible. I don't know how much has changed at either place, but based on my (albeit sketchy) experience, I'd say Hardee's is probably right. Does anyone have any more recent experiences they'd like to share?

http://www.slashfood.com/2008/05/19/hardees-has-their-own-chicken-biscuit-deal/