Hilarious ‘leaked’ Carl’s Jr. videos show staff training to manage unruly customers on Free Burger Day

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.”

Hilarious ‘leaked’ Carl’s Jr. videos show staff training to manage unruly customers on Free Burger Day

Featured Stories