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Maloof brothers star in next Carl's Jr. ad
By Erik Siemers
Thursday, September 28, 2006
The latest advertisement by the Carl's Jr. hamburger chain tries again to target something young men covet.
No, Paris Hilton isn't lathering up another Bentley.
This time, it's the Maloof brothers - the casino magnates with a heritage of wealth that starts in New Mexico - featured in an ad campaign set to air nationally starting Oct. 16.
Joe, Phil, George and Gavin Maloof filmed a spot last month at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, which they own. In the ad, they feast on Carl's Jr.'s signature Six Dollar Burger washed down with a $6,000, 24-year-old bottle of Bordeaux wine.
"It took us 10 hours to film it," said Joe Maloof, who splits his time between Las Vegas, Sacramento and Los Angeles. He's 50 but said he looks 40 and acts 20.
"I guess we had to eat a lot of hamburgers. It was a lot of fun."
The Maloof family's wealth traces back to Las Vegas, N.M., where they secured the rights to distribute Coors beer in New Mexico, Maloof said. They now own the Palms - a celebrity magnet of its own - and the NBA's Sacramento Kings, while maintaining the beer business in Albuquerque.
Their lifestyle - that of wealthy bachelors plying their trade in the entertainment industry - is something Carl's Jr. marketers think will appeal to their target audience.
"Our young, hungry guy target audience would think they're cool guys because they're living the lifestyle every young, hungry guy wants to live," said Brad Haley, vice president for marketing at CKE Restaurants, the Carpinteria, Calif., company that owns the Carl's Jr., Hardee's and La Salsa fast-food brands.
The unlikely pairing came a few months ago when Andrew Puzder, CKE's chief executive, met the Maloofs, who told him they were big fans of Carl's Jr. burgers, Haley said.
"It's the truth. We're not lying," Joe Maloof said. "We eat at Carl's Jr. all the time. We pull up in the limo and get hamburgers at Carl's Jr. I've done that I don't know how many times."
Maloof said when the family bought the Kings in 1998, he bought a home around the corner from a Carl's Jr.
"All I did - and this is true - for one year was eat at Carl's Jr., probably twice a day and go to Arco Arena," he said, referring to the Kings' venue.
The Maloofs aren't likely to be as controversial as a previous Carl's Jr. representative. A 2005 ad featuring hotel heiress Paris Hilton engulfed in suds while sponging a car was referred to as "soft porn" by the head of Parents Television Council, an advocacy group that protested the commercial.
The Maloofs' ad shows the four brothers walking through the casino and greeting customers before settling down for burgers and expensive wine.
It will air in all markets that have Carl's Jr. and Hardee's restaurants. The company has 1,072 Carl's Jr. restaurants in the West and Southwest, and 1,945 Hardee's restaurants in the Midwest and Southeast.
"The idea is sort of that these guys that can have anything they want - the best wine, the best basketball team, the best casino in Vegas - think that the Carl's Jr. Six Dollar Burger is the ideal burger for them," Haley said. "We think the overall message helps reinforce the quality we put into that product in the first place."
Joe Maloof puts it more directly.
"I think they wanted to show four guys that have a lot of money - who are we kidding, we've got a lot of money," he said. "We're blue-collar guys with a lot of money that love their food."
By Erik Siemers
Thursday, September 28, 2006
The latest advertisement by the Carl's Jr. hamburger chain tries again to target something young men covet.
No, Paris Hilton isn't lathering up another Bentley.
This time, it's the Maloof brothers - the casino magnates with a heritage of wealth that starts in New Mexico - featured in an ad campaign set to air nationally starting Oct. 16.
Joe, Phil, George and Gavin Maloof filmed a spot last month at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, which they own. In the ad, they feast on Carl's Jr.'s signature Six Dollar Burger washed down with a $6,000, 24-year-old bottle of Bordeaux wine.
"It took us 10 hours to film it," said Joe Maloof, who splits his time between Las Vegas, Sacramento and Los Angeles. He's 50 but said he looks 40 and acts 20.
"I guess we had to eat a lot of hamburgers. It was a lot of fun."
The Maloof family's wealth traces back to Las Vegas, N.M., where they secured the rights to distribute Coors beer in New Mexico, Maloof said. They now own the Palms - a celebrity magnet of its own - and the NBA's Sacramento Kings, while maintaining the beer business in Albuquerque.
Their lifestyle - that of wealthy bachelors plying their trade in the entertainment industry - is something Carl's Jr. marketers think will appeal to their target audience.
"Our young, hungry guy target audience would think they're cool guys because they're living the lifestyle every young, hungry guy wants to live," said Brad Haley, vice president for marketing at CKE Restaurants, the Carpinteria, Calif., company that owns the Carl's Jr., Hardee's and La Salsa fast-food brands.
The unlikely pairing came a few months ago when Andrew Puzder, CKE's chief executive, met the Maloofs, who told him they were big fans of Carl's Jr. burgers, Haley said.
"It's the truth. We're not lying," Joe Maloof said. "We eat at Carl's Jr. all the time. We pull up in the limo and get hamburgers at Carl's Jr. I've done that I don't know how many times."
Maloof said when the family bought the Kings in 1998, he bought a home around the corner from a Carl's Jr.
"All I did - and this is true - for one year was eat at Carl's Jr., probably twice a day and go to Arco Arena," he said, referring to the Kings' venue.
The Maloofs aren't likely to be as controversial as a previous Carl's Jr. representative. A 2005 ad featuring hotel heiress Paris Hilton engulfed in suds while sponging a car was referred to as "soft porn" by the head of Parents Television Council, an advocacy group that protested the commercial.
The Maloofs' ad shows the four brothers walking through the casino and greeting customers before settling down for burgers and expensive wine.
It will air in all markets that have Carl's Jr. and Hardee's restaurants. The company has 1,072 Carl's Jr. restaurants in the West and Southwest, and 1,945 Hardee's restaurants in the Midwest and Southeast.
"The idea is sort of that these guys that can have anything they want - the best wine, the best basketball team, the best casino in Vegas - think that the Carl's Jr. Six Dollar Burger is the ideal burger for them," Haley said. "We think the overall message helps reinforce the quality we put into that product in the first place."
Joe Maloof puts it more directly.
"I think they wanted to show four guys that have a lot of money - who are we kidding, we've got a lot of money," he said. "We're blue-collar guys with a lot of money that love their food."
