New Southwest Patty Melt from Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s Turns up the Heat on an All-American Classic

Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition Cover Girl Kate Upton Sizzles in Spicy TV Commercial

CARPINTERIA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Carl’s Jr.^® and Hardee’s^® just made a spicy new addition to the brands’ burger menus with the reinvention of an all-American favorite – the Southwest Patty Melt. A spicy twist on a classic burger, the new Southwest Patty Melt features a charbroiled beef patty, with sliced jalapeños, grilled onions, pepper-Jack cheese, and spicy Santa Fe sauce, all on grilled sourdough bread. The Southwest Patty Melt is available now at all Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. locations.

“Kate Upton truly is one of the most beautiful women in the world, yet she has a great, all-American look, so she was a natural fit for our advertising campaign about a spiced-up version of a classic American burger”

“The Southwest Patty Melt is our modern update of a classic American burger from the ’50s and ’60s,” said Brad Haley, chief marketing officer for Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s. “We took the best aspects of an original patty melt, grilled onions and melting cheese on grilled bread, and spiced them up with jalapeños, pepper-Jack cheese and our own Santa Fe sauce, which has a pretty good kick of its own. And, if you order our premium version, it comes with almost a half pound of charbroiled, 100% Black Angus beef.”

Supermodel Kate Upton brings on the heat, herself, in the sizzling new Southwest Patty Melt commercial airing this weekend. The retro-inspired ad features Kate in a classic 1950s setting, a drive-in movie theater, watching a film in a 1950s-era car and vintage-inspired clothing. Created by Los Angeles- and Amsterdam-based 72andSunny, CKE Restaurants’ new creative agency, the commercial features a contemporized version of the 1959 hit song “Some Like It Hot.” The spot was directed by Chris Applebaum, who is known for working with some of the most successful female artists in music videos and actresses in commercials.

“Kate Upton truly is one of the most beautiful women in the world, yet she has a great, all-American look, so she was a natural fit for our advertising campaign about a spiced-up version of a classic American burger,” Haley added. “As you’ll see, both Kate and the Southwest Patty Melt deliver the heat in the ads.”

Kate follows in the footsteps of other pop-culture icons in Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s advertising, including Kim Kardashian, Paris Hilton and Padma Lakshmi, all of whom were also directed by Applebaum. Kate is the 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover girl and also appeared in the 2011 edition, where she earned Rookie of the Year honors. She was recently ranked #2 on the AskMen.com list of World’s Most Desirable Women and was Esquire’s 2011 Woman of the Summer and GQ’s 2011 Body of the Year.

"Carl's Jr. and Hardee's are brands that need to make waves in culture,” said Glenn Cole, founding partner and CCO at 72andSunny. “While our competitors try to out-kid-meal each other, we're going to keep making noise and delivering young hungry guys what they want."

Exclusive behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with Kate on the set of the Southwest Patty Melt commercial shoot can be viewed on the brands’ YouTube channels (www.youtube.com/carlsjr and www.youtube.com/hardees). The :30 ad will be posted to YouTube later this week, will air during the Oscar telecast in many markets this Sunday, and begin running nationally Feb. 27. An additional :60 Director’s Cut of the commercial will be posted on the brands’ YouTube channels as well. A ringtone of the updated “Some Like It Hot” song from the ads will be made available on iTunes.

Stay tuned to Facebook (www.facebook.com/carlsjr and www.facebook.com/hardees) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/carlsjr and www.twitter.com/hardees) for the latest on all things spicy.

About Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s

CKE Restaurants, Inc. is a privately held company headquartered in Carpinteria, Calif. As of the end of the third quarter of fiscal 2012, the Company, through its subsidiaries, had a total of 3,219 franchised, licensed or company-operated restaurants in 42 states and in 23 countries, including 1,292 Carl's Jr. restaurants and 1,917 Hardee's restaurants. For more information about CKE Restaurants, please visit www.ckr.com or its brand sites at www.carlsjr.com and www.hardees.com.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=50177364&lang=en