Hardee’s is entering the burger wars
Hardee’s latest campaign from Jackass creator takes a hands-on approach to proving its food is made differently.
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Hardee’s is entering the burger wars. And it brought a woodchipper.
A breakthrough new campaign directed by Jeff Tremaine, director and co-creator of Jackass, takes Hardee’s made-by-hand philosophy beyond the kitchen: when your food is made by hand, your commercials should be, too.
Produced by Magna Studios, the campaign features the Bacon Beast, Thickburger and two for $5 Mix & Match Breakfast. It skips CGI and the polished fast-food playbook in favour of real practical effects and Tremaine’s signature, controlled chaos. Freezers explode. A fake cow meets an unfortunate end. The competition gets fed through a woodchipper. And yes, they really did it.
The approach may be new, but what Hardee’s is talking about isn’t: real food, made by hand. Biscuits are made from scratch every morning. Burgers are made with 100% Angus beef. And food is prepared by people, not assembly lines.
“We believe you can taste the difference when food is made with real ingredients and a little more care,” said Kara Gasbarro, SVP of Creative and Strategy. “We wanted the advertising to have that same attitude. No shortcuts. No fake tricks. Just a very Hardee’s way of doing things.”
Tremaine brings his trademark irreverence to the campaign, resulting in spots that feel less like traditional fast-food advertising and more like a challenge to the category.
“If you’re going to blow up a freezer, you should really blow up a freezer,” said Tremaine.
The campaign plants a flag for Hardee’s in the burger wars: real food, made by hand, deserves advertising that doesn’t play it safe.
The campaign is the first for creative agency Griffin Archer and will run in all Hardee’s markets beginning this week.
