While in Paris, Have a Burger
Written by Bill G on May 27th, 2005 in Babes, Paris Hilton, TV, celebrities, culture, food, funny video.
From CNN:
Hamburger chain Carl’s Jr. is making no apologies for its new Spicy Burger television commercial, which features Hilton hotel heiress and reality TV star Paris Hilton in a skin-tight swimsuit soaping up a Bentley and crawling all over it before taking a big bite out of the burger.
The ad, which has been running in major markets since last week, has drawn the ire of television watchdogs, including the Parents Television Council.
“This commercial is basically soft-core porn,” said Melissa Caldwell, research director for the PTC. “The way she moves, the way she puts her finger in her mouth — it’s very suggestive and very titillating.”
Since May 19, the ad has run during sports programs, on ABC’s “Desperate Housewives” finale Sunday and on the season-ending episodes of Fox’s “The O.C.” and NBC’s “The Apprentice.”
Carl’s Jr.’s message to the PTC: The group needs to “get a life,” said Andy Puzder, CEO of Carl’s Jr., a subsidiary of CKE Restaurants (Research). “This isn’t Janet Jackson — there is no nipple in this. There is no nudity, there is no sex acts — it’s a beautiful model in a swimsuit washing a car.”
Puzder says he has shown the ad to his three children, ages 12, 9 and 7, and they have shown no signs of being corrupted. “Maybe people are excited because it’s Paris Hilton, but there are far worse things on television that these groups should be worried about,” Puzder said.
But the PTC says it has a problem with the context and the content of the ad, not the personalities involved.
Caldwell says that because the ad is airing during sports programs, and FOX’s “OC”, which are heavily watched by teens, it promotes sexuality to an audience that might not be ready for it. “It’s difficult to gauge how children are going to react to this,” Caldwell said.
Carl’s Jr. features the ad on its Web site, carlsjr.com, and also built a separate Web site called SpicyParis.com to play a 60-second version of the commercial. The company says SpicyParis.com was so overwhelmed with traffic last Friday that the Web site crashed. It is now back in operation.
That’s hot.
~Bill G
May 28th, 2005 at 9:37 pm
That is rather disturbingly hot. Advertisers are a canny lot.
June 1st, 2005 at 8:35 pm
This is a petition to get the commercial off the air:
http://www.petitiononline.com/phcj666/petition.html
The comments left by the signers are special. Every single one of them.
June 2nd, 2005 at 7:52 pm
“I use to go to Carls Jr.Everyday but no thanks on Paris. Now I eat Burger King!”
Sounds like he’s moving up in the world!
June 5th, 2005 at 10:06 pm
I dunno, is Carl’s Jr. any good?
June 6th, 2005 at 6:16 pm
I’ve never been to Carl’s, but it’s the same chain as Hardees, and Hardees wasn’t any good.