CARPINTERIA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Behold the power of bacon! Superhuman appetites meet their match today at Carl’s® Jr. and Hardee’s® with the arrival of two new menu items that pack a mighty serving of bacon. Featuring four strips of crispy bacon, twice the bacon of their classic menu counterparts at Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s, the new Western X-Tra Bacon Cheeseburger and X-Tra Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuit are available now at all participating Hardee’s and at Carl’s Jr. starting tomorrow. The X-traordinary new items are part of the restaurants’ promotional tie-in with 20th Century Fox’s release of X-Men: Days of Future Past, in theaters May 23.
In addition to the new X-Tra Bacon menu items, the upcoming promotion also includes X-Men-themed advertising, sweepstakes, an instant-win game, collectors’ cup and in-restaurant merchandising.
“Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s have a long track record of partnering with some of the biggest summer blockbusters, and X-Men: Days of Future Past will undoubtedly be the summer movie event of 2014,” said Brad Haley, chief marketing officer for Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s. “Our young, hungry customers love big superhero films almost as much as they love our big charbroiled burgers and Made from Scratch™ Biscuits. When we announced our partnership with Fox and X-Men at Comic-Con in San Diego last summer, we couldn’t reveal many of the details at the time but this fully-integrated promotion includes everything from new film-themed menu items to a special effects-filled ad campaign starring three popular X-Men from the movie, beginning with the premiere of our spot next week that features the character Mystique.
“Besides being a pure thrill-ride, this X-Men movie stars more Academy Award winners and nominees than any film ever made. So, since this promises to be the biggest and best X-Men film ever, we’re making two of our most popular menu items, the iconic Western Bacon Cheeseburger and the breakfast favorite Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuit, bigger and better than ever by loading them up with four strips of crispy bacon, double the amount we serve on the originals,” Haley continued.
The Western X-Tra Bacon Cheeseburger features four strips of bacon (twice the usual amount), melted American cheese, crispy onion rings and tangy BBQ sauce and is available as a charbroiled single burger, a double burger or as a 100 percent Black Angus beef Thickburger, which is served on a Fresh Baked Bun. The X-Tra Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuit also features four strips of crispy bacon (twice the usual amount), folded egg and American cheese served on a Made from Scratch™ Buttermilk Biscuit. Prices start at $3.79 for the burger and $2.59 for the biscuit sandwich and may vary by location.
The new X-Tra Bacon menu items will be promoted through X-Men-themed commercials created by Los Angeles- and Amsterdam-based creative agency 72andSunny. Titled “X-traordinary Hunger,” the ad campaign features appearances by iconic X-Men characters who use their mutant superpowers to take down the X-Tra servings of bacon on the new burger and biscuit. The campaign kicks off next week with the premiere of the first ad for the Western X-Tra Bacon Cheeseburger, featuring the shapeshifting X-Men character Mystique. Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s will reveal additional spots starring two more X-Men characters in April.
Following its TV premiere, the Mystique spot also will be available on the Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s YouTube channels (www.youtube.com/carlsjr and www.youtube.com/hardees). In addition to the commercials, other campaign elements include:
- “X-Men Digital Makeover”: Next week, Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s invite fans to unleash their inner mutants and participate in the “X-Men Digital Makeover” online promotion. Submit a photo of yourself on Instagram using the hashtag #EatLikeYouMeanIt for the chance to receive a photo mutant makeover.
- “X-Men Instant Win Game & Sweepstakes”: In conjunction with Coca-Cola®, this April Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s will offer guests the “X-Men Instant Win Game & Sweepstakes.” A unique code on each X-Men-themed cup allows guests to enter on the X-Men microsite available at www.carlsjr.com and www.hardees.com for a chance to win a trip for two to experience New York City of past and future. Each 40-ounce collector’s cup includes a peel-and-win component for free or discounted food items, while supplies last.
- In-restaurant merchandising: X-Men-themed large fry cartons will be available at each restaurant, while supplies last, and crew members will sport official X-Men: Days of Future Past hats during the promotion.
“Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s have created some of the most iconic film partnerships in recent memory. To have X-Men: Days of Future Past as Carl’s Jr.’s and Hardee’s’ biggest entertainment partnership to date is thrilling,” said Zachary Eller, senior vice president of marketing partnerships at 20th Century Fox. “This program has been a year in the making since we announced our partnership last year at Comic-Con. Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s and their agency teams have created a campaign that has been activated at every level with great thought and creativity. They have gone above and beyond anything done before and it shows in both the scope of the campaign and quality of the creative. We are so proud to have them as a key partner in our marketing program on this major studio release.”
X-plore Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s on Facebook (www.facebook.com/carlsjr and www.facebook.com/hardees) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/carlsjr and www.twitter.com/hardees) for the latest details on X-Tra Bacon and additional promotional offers. Download the Super Star Rewards app from the iTunes Store and Google Play and check in to redeem Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s products on the spot, save points for a high-value reward, check out the full menu and use the store locator to find any Hardee’s or Carl’s Jr. in the U.S.
About CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc.
CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc. (“CKE”) is a privately held company headquartered in Carpinteria, Calif. Through its subsidiaries, CKE owns and licenses Carl’s Jr.® and Hardee’s® quick-service restaurants. CKE operates Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s as one brand under two names acknowledging the regional heritage of both banners. CKE has a total of 3,449 franchised or company-operated restaurants in 42 states and 30 foreign countries and U.S. territories. Known for its one-of-a-kind premium menu items such as 100 percent Black Angus Six Dollar Thickburgers®, Made from Scratch™ Biscuits, Hand-Breaded Chicken Tenders™ and Fresh Baked Buns, as well as an award-winning marketing approach, the Carl’s Jr./Hardee’s brand continues to deliver substantial and consistent growth in the U.S. and overseas. The Carl’s Jr./Hardee’s system is now 74 percent franchised, with international restaurants representing 17 percent of the system. For more information about CKE, please visit www.ckr.com or its brand sites at www.carlsjr.com and www.hardees.com.
About Twentieth Century Fox
One of the world’s largest producers and distributors of motion pictures, 20th Century Fox produces, acquires and distributes motion pictures throughout the world. These motion pictures are produced or acquired by the following units: Twentieth Century Fox, Fox 2000 Pictures, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Fox International Productions and Twentieth Century Fox Animation.
About X-Men: Days of Future Past
The ultimate X-Men ensemble fights a war for the survival of the species across two time periods in X-Men: Days of Future Past. The beloved characters from the original X-Men film trilogy join forces with their younger selves from X-Men: First Class, in an epic battle that must change the past – to save our future. X-Men: Days of Future Past opens in theaters everywhere on May 23, 2014. For more information about X-Men: Days of Future Past, please visit www.X-MenMovies.com, #XMen, & #DOFP.
