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

Published On
Feb 09, 2024
A man standing naked in a Carl's Jr. as an employee looks on smiling

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

Need a credit fix? Contact the Creativity Editors

Industry
Project Type