Agencies, Broadcast, Crispin Porter & Bogusky, Kirshenbaum Bond

Hardee’s, Burger King, Wendy’s And KP+B

By SuperSpy on September 30, 2008 9:07 AM

I gotta say, who ever did the voice over on this Hardee’s ad created by the Los Angeles based Mendelsohn/Zien, I adore. It’s the dry, sardonic tone. Call me a jaded Gen Y’er, but I appreciate it. I also dig on the simplicity of the ad – clean and to the point.

The spot is in support of Hardee’s new push to the economically downtrodden (isn’t that almost everyone?). Five years after Hardee’s introduced their Thickburgers, the chain has created a smaller version – Little Thickburgers. Brad Haley, Hardee’s EVP of Marketing for Hardee’s restaurants said in QSR magazine:

“The only complaint some people have ever had about our Thickburgers is that they were either too big or too expensive to order as much as they would like, particularly in this challenging economic environment. So, we created Little Thickburgers specifically for those people.”

Mendelsohn/Zien has been holding down Hardee’s for years, since 2001. They were the ones to snag Paris Hilton for the “That’s Hot” commercial, in 2005. The agency has this whole burger thing on lock. They’ve have also retained Carl Jr.’s as a client since 1995. And yes, they’ve used Paris Hilton to rep that brand, as well. What do you expect? They’re from LA.

Both brands are part of the CKE family of restaurants, which recently sailed into Wall Street with quarterly profits above expectations.

On that fast food note, Crispin’s Burger King is still weathering the shaky economy, but Wendy’s? Not so much. Kirshenbaum Bond’s client has seen lower profits then competitors, a dismal roll out of a new slogan and a buy out in the past view months. Lets see if Bond can hold onto the account…

More: From Wendy’s To An Advertising Firm