Mon Dec 6, 9:04 PM ET
By JIM SUHR, AP Business Writer
ST. LOUIS - At 1,420 calories and 107 grams of fat, Hardee's Monster Thickburger couldn't escape notice in these diet-conscious times. Or the jabs of
late-night talk show hosts.
Just a day after the Monster's rollout Nov. 15, Jay Leno quipped on "The Tonight Show" that the megaburger "actually comes in a little cardboard box
shaped like a coffin." On David Letterman's "Late Show," an actor playing the chief of Hardee's corporate parent, CKE Restaurants Inc., in a sketch
clutched his chest, then keeled over when asked of any health risks of a burger that size.
Media outlets from Japan, Spain, England, France and Australia have reported about the Monster.
"I don't think any of us anticipated anything like the media uproar we've seen," says Andy Puzder, the real president and CEO of California-based CKE.
But the word-of mouth advertising, coming on top of a new ad campaign, has had just the impact the company wanted. People have just had to try the
Monster. All of it.
"You can certainly say it exceeded all my expectations," Puzder said of sales, although he declined to offer specifics.
The fuss is all about a super-supersized burger ? two 1/3-pound slabs of all-Angus beef, four strips of bacon, three slices of cheese and mayonnaise
on a buttered sesame seed bun. The sandwich alone sells for $5.49, or $7.09 with fries and a soda. The combo packs more calories and fat than most
people should get in a day.
A Monster Thickburger bought by a reporter Monday at a St. Louis Hardee's was presented appealingly enough, wrapped neatly in light paper and standing
a whopping 2 1/2 inches tall inside a box. But the double-pattied behemoth, bought as part of combo with French fries and a drink, stretched the mouth
and stomach, too much for the reporter to absorb in one sitting.
Hardee's timing is interesting; McDonald's, Wendy's and other rival fast-food giants are offering salads and other lower-calorie fare. But Hardee's
appears comfortable staking its future ? at least near-term ? on gargantuan burgers.
Hardee's already was offering five sandwiches with 1,000 calories or more, and eight overall that have more calories than what was once the big-burger
standard ? the 560-calorie Big Mac.
Still, the company has plenty of competition when it comes to big-calorie sandwiches. According to the corporate Web sites of the larger fast-food
chains, the Double Quarter Pounder with cheese at McDonald's has 730 calories and 40 grams of fat, the Burger King Double Whopper with cheese (1,060
calories, 69 grams of fat), and the Wendy's Classic Triple with cheese (940 and 56).
"Not every product has to be aimed at the health-conscious," Puzder said, noting that since the introduction of the Thickburger family in April 2003,
sales for the 2,067-restaurant chain have risen steadily.
Though CKE fell to a loss in the second-quarter ending Aug. 9 ? given charges for settlement reserves and debt refinancing ? the company said sales at
its Hardee's and the Carl's Jr. chains rose in the four weeks ended Nov. 1 for the 17th straight reporting period.
Edwin Depke, 80, a retired box company worker who has long loved the Thickburgers, was won over by the Monster at a St. Louis Hardee's.
Calories schmalories, he said.
"They're big and thick, with all the trimmings," Depke said. "You don't have to worry about all bun and no meat."
"They're really good. Eat one, and you don't have to worry about another. It's a meal."
Still, many have questioned Hardee's approach at a time when airlines say America's growing waistlines are hurting their bottom lines, costing them
more in fuel.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington-based advocate for nutrition and health, dubbed the Thickburgers "food porn," the Monster
"the fast-food equivalent of a snuff film."
"At a time of rampant heart disease and obesity, it is the height of corporate irresponsibility for a major chain to peddle a 1,420-calorie sandwich,"
the center said.
Lighten up, others say.
"Let the food puritans say what they will," the Star Tribune of Minneapolis said in an editorial. "There's nothing really wrong with counting the
occasional juicy burger among life's simple pleasures."
"The promotional campaign has relied so heavily on humor that it seems possible to take the Monster Thickburger itself as kind of a goof on the
fast-food industry's belated and rather lame, lawsuit-driven trend toward healthier menu choices," the newspaper said, asking "does anyone who savors
a good green salad really think McDonald's or Subway is the place to go?"
Chase Squires, a St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times reporter, tried the Monster Thickburger and found it "kind of mushy," opining in a column Nov. 23 that
there were healthier food options. Holiday air travelers, he suggested, should go lighter on the airlines and "have a stick of butter instead. That
has only 800 calories and 88 grams of fat. We could always wrap it in bacon."
Puzder has the stomach for such dissent.
"We want Hardee's to be known as the place for big, juicy, decadent burgers," he says. "Every time (comics or critics) come out with something, it
helps us advance the impression of the brand. This all helps."GabeTexasGAMC - 12-7-2004 at 04:01 AM
HAHAHAHHA thats a Grown ass burger.
I wish t here wasy a hardees here.BDx13 - 12-7-2004 at 08:58 AM
haha, yeah, boy! in nyc we'd call that a Big Pun burger!
LilOz - 12-7-2004 at 09:54 AM
My mouth is salivatingDave - 12-7-2004 at 10:06 AM
shit i haven't had Hardee's in like 15 years, i rember it being tastey, i'd so eat one of those if we had them up here.GabeTexasGAMC - 12-7-2004 at 10:55 AM
BDx13 - 12-7-2004 at 11:34 AM
FUUUUUCK YEAH!LilOz - 12-7-2004 at 11:42 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by GabeTexasGAMC
Best edited picture ever!
When i get home i got a new backgroundmoron - 12-7-2004 at 01:28 PM
I saw that on the news. Im tempted to try one, but I dont think I'll ever finish it. Ive never been to a Hardees though. I assume there arent any
in NYC.BDx13 - 12-7-2004 at 01:30 PM
there are some in pa, delaware, and new york state. yes, i've already used the 'store locator' feature on their site!BDx13 - 12-7-2004 at 01:40 PM
There's a bar in Baltimore called Alonso?s that offers the Alonso Burger (1lb), and the "Meal In A Basket" which is a pound and a half hamburger and
fires. I think the place was sold recently, so I don't know if they still have it.
And right around the corner from Alonso?s is Angelo's, home of "The Mega Slice", which is essentially 1/4 of a large pie for $2.50.
Can you tell I love big food?Dave - 12-7-2004 at 09:21 PM
you would have loved a pizza place we had here, huge ass slice, they make something like 36" pizzas and the slices came from that. so they'd be 18"
long by around oh, 12-14" wide i'd say.GabeTexasGAMC - 12-8-2004 at 01:21 AM
our local venue is a pizza place, the guys been making NY style pizza for about 30 years. so we eat pizza, drink beer, and play shows.RomanticViolence - 7-18-2006 at 03:18 PM
Somone was telling me about a new Philly Cheesesteak thick burger that hardees put out.
It has 1/3 LB of Angus beef, steak, topped with onions, peppers, and two cheeses.
