Posted on 09/09/2007 5:00:13 AM PDT by ShadowDancer
Hardee's Ad Angers Tennessee Teachers
Chattanooga area Hardees decline to run the ad
Richard Simms
September 5, 2007 - 5:32AM
Hardees Ad Angers Teachers
A new television ad for Hardee's Restaurants has angered representatives of the Tennessee Education Association. Hardees ad executives in Chattanooga declined to run the ad saying "we do our best to promote our products without offending customers. “How irresponsible can you get?"
Those are the words of Tennessee Education Association President, Doctor Earl Wiman. Wiman is upset about a television ad showing a young teacher dancing on top of her desk while boys in the class rap about her body in order to sell hamburgers!
Wiman said, "At this very moment, there are female teachers in high school classrooms with 30-plus students who are working hard to teach our children so that they can compete in today’s world. It is unbelievably demeaning..."
Her reaction cam came following the airing of the Hardee’s ‘flat bun’ hamburger commercial during a Titans football game.
The commercial is not airing in the Chattanooga market. Brad Haley, the Executive Vice President of Marketing for Hardees says it is up to the local franchisee on whether or not to air the ad in their particular market. Haley says their national ad campaigns target 18-34 year old males and are often designed to be "a little edgy." He says however that some markets consider ad too edgy and elect not to use them.
Dale Forrester is with Delray Advertising, the company that handles advertising for Hardees in the Chattanooga market.
"We didn't feel (that commercial) was appropriate for our market," said Forrester. "Our feeling is that some ads that might appeal in other markets, but we're a little bit more conservative. We are one of the more conservative markets in the country... we do our best to promote our products without offending our customers."
Haley said in the markets where the ad is airing, it is only scheduled to run after 10 p.m. It will run for a total of three weeks.
In Nashville Wiman said, “I am asking that all of our members and the public who care about children and their education to contact their local Hardee’s to voice their concerns."
The TEA Web site, www.teateachers.org, has contact information for those who want to write or call corporate officials.
Wiman said, “Tennessee’s teachers work hard every day to educate the children of this state. Working with parents, we strive to teach and reinforce good behavior so that all students have the chance to learn in a safe and orderly environment, and we strongly resent those who flaunt their disregard for both teachers and the children we teach.”
Hardee's posted a news release on its website on August 28 with the release of the new advertisement entitled, "Survey Ranks Nicole Richie and Ryan Seacrest's Buns Flattest in Hollywood."
It goes on to say, "Move over J. Lo! Beginning today, Carl's Jr.® and Hardee's® celebrate flat buns with a new TV commercial to promote a hot new burger made with flat buns: the Patty Melt Burger(TM). To help bring attention to the unheralded allure of flatness, Carl's Jr. and Hardee's conducted an internet survey of 2,000 Americans to rank the flattest female and male celebrity buns. At the top of the flattest female buns list were Nicole Richie and former Carl's Jr. and Hardee's commercial star, Paris Hilton. Ryan Seacrest and David Letterman rounded out (or should we say "flattened out") the top of the male category. Other contenders for the flattest bun crown included Kate Moss, Kiera Knightley, Jackie Chan and Johnny Depp."
Haley admit is is "an edgy news release."
He said, "for a young market, often the edgier the better."
You can send your comments to them as well.
Everything is fine.
The market is dictating the morality level and the gubermint had nothing to do with it!
5 points for Capitalism!
5 points for morality.
2 extra points for recognizing a conservative market.
It actually is for Carl’s Jr. (Unless there is another version of the ad for Hardees - the sister company).
If you are asking if the “teacher” in the ad is attractive- I would say she is more physically attractive than the one from the old VH video “Hot for Teacher”....
The Paris Hilton ad was for Carl’s Jr. hamburgers, not Hardees.
I have to say that the commercial is totally inappropriate in so many ways. Is this what we’ve come to - some pretty girl shaking her money maker in front of a bunch of underage boys in order to hawk a few hambugers?
Yo, white kids depicted as “rappers”, now that is disgusting. Sir Mixalot should be granted a opposing view commercial for Hardee’s Thickburger
The commercial was in bad taste ... but I laugh my not so flat buns off anyway.
This may be the first time ever, I’m going to take the NEA’s side.
bump
I guess Hardee’s was just taking advantage of the news of all the female teachers who have been caught sexing their male students. It seems there have been so many that it seemed like a daily news story.
made me laugh.
play on baby got back and van halen.
made me laugh.
play on baby got back and van halen.
Time to laugh, one of the lyrics, “in anatomy got a B-”, funny
I’m seeing it constantly. hearing it on the radio.
poor taste, yes, funny YES!, lyrics are just funny.
this ‘teacher looks more in the age category of the kids’ in that commercial.
I’m hardly a prude but that is inappropriate.
The NEA is “offended” because real teachers don’t look like the one in the Carl’s Jr. ad, nor Van Halen’s video...
Let’s step this process out, shall we? Someone in an ad agency conceives the idea of the commercial and pushes it to an adult who thinks its a good concept. Other adults in the ad agency also think the concept is solid and present it to adults at Hardees who pass it on to other adults who sign off on the piece of trash.
At every step in the approval process good sense and taste were absent.
Several people at the ad agency and at Hardees should be fired for putting the commerical on the air but I don’t think anyone will be.
Hardees should without hesitation fire the ad agency.
More than a few do.
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