Evoking the kind of burger offered at upscale steakhouses, Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s today announced their newest creation, the Steakhouse Burgers. The Six Dollar Burger and Thickburger versions of the Steakhouse Burgers feature a charbroiled, 100% Black Angus beef patty with A.1. steak sauce, crumbled blue cheese, crispy onion strings, Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and mayonnaise all on a seeded bun, and are available now at all Hardee’s
“Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s have been bringing sit-down-restaurant-quality burgers to fast-food customers for years now but this one really ups the ante,” said Brad Haley, chief marketing officer for Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s. “We have tested a number of burgers with A.1. steak sauce, crumbled blue cheese or crispy onion strings in the past, but they never quite reached the level of a truly great burger that we require in order to introduce them nationwide. It wasn’t until we ran across a burger in a steakhouse with all three toppings combined that we knew we had found it. In fact, the resulting new Steakhouse Burgers garnered the highest consumer research scores we’ve ever seen in a test market. And, when we served them to our advertising agency, David&Goliath, for the first time, the creative team said they were so good they ‘tasted like they were made by the god of hamburgers,’ and that idea ended up being the basis for the advertising campaign.”
The advertising for Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s new Steakhouse Burgers will introduce Hamblor, the mythical god of hamburgers. The ad campaign by Los Angeles-based agency David&Goliath features the epic telling of how Hamblor created the Steakhouse Burgers. The 30-second TV spot shows Hamblor in his fabled kingdom firing onion strings from his powerful hands and making a blue cheese bust of himself crumble by using nothing but his mighty voice. The ad also features Hamblor’s adoring goddesses and his trusty, giant St. Bernard, carrying a cask of A.1. sauce around his neck. The commercial can be viewed on the brands’ YouTube channels.
The integrated Steakhouse Burgers introductions at Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s will include the Kingdom of Hamblor digital sweepstakes starting September 26 to coincide with the ad campaign. Guests can visit www.Hamblor.com or the brands’ Facebook pages (www.facebook.com/carlsjr and www.facebook.com/hardees) to enter the contest daily for a chance to win free and discounted food prizes, Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s gift cards, and movie merchandise from the upcoming epic 3D action-adventure film Immortals. The final grand prize winner will receive a trip for two to the Hollywood premiere of Immortals in November. Fans can earn additional points for answering Hamblor, Steakhouse Burger and Immortals movie trivia questions, posting Hamblor-related information on their Facebook pages and recruiting additional friends to Hamblor’s Kingdom. Immortals (www.immortalsmovie.com) opens nationwide November 11 and is distributed by Relativity Media.
Hamblor will be popping up in Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s restaurants as well, with a 6-foot cutout image of the god of hamburgers at participating restaurant locations. Guests who snap their picture with Hamblor in the restaurant are encouraged to upload it to the brands’ Twitter feeds (www.twitter.com/carlsjr and www.twitter.com/hardees) with the hashtag #Hamblor.
For a limited time, 15-ounce retail bottles of A.1. Steak Sauce will feature the Steakhouse Burgers on the label with a link to a coupon for $1 off a Steakhouse Burger combo at Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s.