CARPINTERIA Calif. CKE Restaurants Inc. has decided to edit a TV spot promoting the flat-bun Patty Melt Burger at its Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. restaurants following complaints that the sexy teacher depicted in the commercial was demeaning to educators.
The spot, created by Mendelsohn/Zien of Los Angeles, showed the teacher dancing atop her desk as the male students performed a rap song titled “I Like Flat Buns.”
The Tennessee Education Association last week protested the airing of the spot, which association president Earl Wiman called “unbelievably demeaning” and a “sexually exploitive assault” on teachers and students.
The spot will be edited to remove the teacher, according to the Associated Press.
CKE owns or franchises 3,022 Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. restaurants. Many of Carl’s Jr.’s and Hardee’s previous ad campaigns have featured attractive women to appeal to their core audience of young men.
