Hilarious ‘leaked’ Carl’s Jr. videos show staff training to manage unruly customers on Free Burger Day
Employees fight back against the zombie hordes expected on Monday in Callen’s series of spots
Editor's Pick
It’s always great to see fast-food chains portray their customers as mindless, feeding-obsessed zombie hordes, but the latest campaign from Carl’s Jr. turns that tactic into an art form.
The work, from agency Callen, launched earlier this week with a series of “leaked” training videos—appearing to teach Carl’s employees how to appease, restrain or flat-out attack unruly customers driven mad by the prospect of free food on Free Burger Day this coming Monday.
The four videos below, expertly fashioned in the awkwardly bubbly style of all corporate training videos, shows staffers how to be prepared—and which ridiculous weapons they should use in the event of a “Walking Dead”-style burger-seeking swarm.
There is also a fake website at carlsjr-internal.training, amusingly designed to look like shit, like all such real-life sites. It’s also a treasure trove of absurdist comedy, as it fully commits to the gag with various games and jokes. The existential musings of the Carl’s Jr. star mascot on the quiz page are a highlight.
On Thursday, the campaign continued with an “apology” video featuring Jennifer Tate, chief marketing officer at Carl’s Jr. parent CKE Restaurants. She expresses regret for the leaked videos and confirms the Free Burger Day offer—all while preparing herself by donning a riot suit.
“A lot of brands say they want great work but aren’t willing to take the necessary risks to actually achieve it. This was not one of those times,” said Craig Allen, chief creative officer at Callen. “We presented some truly outrageous ideas and the brand team was willing to lean in at every turn. In Jennifer’s case, literally wearing a riot suit and acting in her own spots for the sake of comedy and storytelling.”
The campaign wraps with a spot announcing Free Burger Day that will air regionally during Sunday’s Super Bowl in the chain’s major markets of Arizona, Nevada, Washington, California, Colorado, Oklahoma, Oregon, New Mexico, Idaho, Utah and Wyoming. A slightly different version of the spot will air Monday—the day of the actual promotion. See those spots below.
Fatal Farms from the production studio Picrow directed the training videos and CMO announcement. Tom Kuntz of MJZ directed the “Jets” spots.
“The insatiable cravings our Carl’s Jr. burgers inspire are the driving force behind this campaign,” Tate said. “When you combine the undeniable deliciousness of Carl’s Jr. burgers and the infectious fun from Callen, we have the perfect ingredients for creative that stands out.”
Credits
- Date
- Feb 09, 2024
- Client :
- Carl's Jr.
- Agency :
- Callen
- Chief Marketing Officer :
- Jennifer Tate
- VP Creative & Design Strategy :
- Kara Gasbarro
- VP Marketing :
- Anthony Nguyen
- Sr. Brand Manager :
- Jack Volpi
- Director Field Marketing :
- Emily King
- Social Media Specialist :
- Amanda Trail-Cruz
- Director Corporate Communications :
- Beth Gerstenberger
- Manager Corporate Communications :
- Lauren Ryan
- VP Digital Marketing :
- Jason Seeley
- Director Digital Marketing :
- Shilo Morin
- Chief Creative Officer :
- Craig Allen
- Creative Director :
- Matt Sorrell
- Art Director :
- Casey Phillips
- Art Director :
- Joey Ianno
- Copywriter :
- Russ Rizzo
- Copywriter :
- Chris Stephens
- Head of Production :
- Amy Kommatas
- President :
- David Hughes
- Account Director :
- Payton Brown
- Comms Director :
- Danny Sullivan
- Comms Director :
- Bobby Souers
- Production Studio :
- MJZ
- Director :
- Tom Kuntz
- Founder/Executive Producer :
- David Zander
- Sr. Executive Producer :
- Eriks Krumins
- Producer :
- Emily Skinner
- Director of Photography :
- Chris Soos
- Production Designer :
- Sue Tebbutt
- Edit :
- MackCut
- Editor/Partner :
- Gavin Cutler
- Assistant Editor :
- Louisa Phillips
- Executive Producer :
- Gina Pagano
- VFX/Post Production Company :
- Kevin
- Sr. EP/Partner :
- Sue Troyan
- ECD/Partner :
- Tim Davies
- Sr. VFX Producer :
- Jami Schakel
- VFX Coordinator :
- Connor Van Der Linde
- 2D :
- Alex Kolasinski
- 2D :
- Ben Smith
- 2D :
- Paul Heagney
- 2D :
- Ryan Raith
- 2D :
- Rob Winfield
- FX :
- Nico Sugleris
- Color :
- Meticulous Timing
- Colorist :
- Adam Scott
- Color Assist :
- Carver Moore
- Audio Post :
- Heard City
- Sound Design :
- Sam Shaffer
- Sound Design :
- Midnight Snack
- Managing Partner :
- Gloria Pitagorsky
- Sound Designer :
- Phil Loeb
- Sound Designer :
- Evan Mangiamele
- Sound Designer :
- Zoltan Monori
- Mixer :
- Phil Loeb
- Mixer :
- Evan Mangiamele
- Head of Production :
- Jackie James
- Executive Producer :
- Liana Rosenberg
- Senior Producer :
- B Munoz
- Senior Producer :
- Nick DuVarney
- Assistant Producer :
- Dylan Stetson
- Assistant Mixer :
- Oddy Litlabo
- Assistant Mixer :
- Zoltan Monori
- Assistant Mixer :
- Chenoa Tarin
- Assistant Mixer :
- Virginia Wright
- Music Company :
- Duotone Audio Group
- Creative Director/Founder :
- Peter Nashel
- Executive Producer :
- Ross Hopman
- Producer :
- Gio Lobato
- Director Music Licensing :
- Dana Hom
- Art Director :
- Ben Hallam
- Copywriter :
- Weston Bliobenes
- Copywriter :
- Ethan Sims
- Production Studio :
- Picrow
- Director :
- Fatal Farm
- EP :
- Dal Wolf
- Line Producer :
- Alejandro Aguiar
- DP :
- Tom Banks
- Production Designer :
- Craig Reynolds
- Costume :
- Alisha Silverstein
- Make Up/Hair :
- Tara Loren Bland
- Edit/VFX/Audio :
- Davy Force
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