A Frustrated Carl Hardee Sr. Gets Back to Basics After Seeing What His Son Carl Jr. Did to the Place

In a hilarious commercial by ad agency 72andSunny for Carl’s Jr restaurants, a formidable Carl Hardee Sr. (Charles Esten of Nashville and Whose Line Is It Anyway) returned to his beloved restaurant to see what his son Carl Junior had done to the place. Without breaking his stride, Senior dismantled the very questionable marketing of the brand and replaced it with the original concept of tasty food and good service. An apologetic Junior feigned ignorance and followed his father’s every command.

Meet “our founder”, Carl Hardee Sr. After trusting the company to his son for a few years, Carl Sr. is back to focus on what we do best: making damn tasty food. Say goodbye to women in tiny bathing suits; now it’s all about grass-fed beef, hand-breaded chicken tenders, made-from-scratch biscuits and bacon on pretty much everything. We’re Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s. See why we’re Pioneers of the Great American Burger.

At least no one’s head exploded during this rebranding.

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.