Dr. Robert Rey, Star of E! Entertainment's 'Dr. 90210,' Debuts in Carl's Jr. Commercial

Dr. Robert Rey, Star of E! Entertainment's 'Dr. 90210,' Debuts in Carl's Jr. Commercial

Spot Promotes Bigger, Better Bacon Swiss Crispy Chicken Sandwich(TM)

CARPINTERIA, Calif., April 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Carl's Jr. believes that when it comes to chicken breasts, bigger is better. For Carl's Jr. customers, bigger breasts can now be found on the larger, improved Bacon Swiss Crispy Chicken Sandwich(TM), available in restaurants system wide. Fans of Dr. Robert Rey, and E! Entertainment Television's plastic surgery reality show Dr. 90210, will appreciate the tongue-in-cheek humor his presence lends to a new commercial created to promote the product improvement, as he assures his unexpected patient that in this case "Bigger is better."

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060428/LAF023 )

The new commercial will premiere May 1 to promote the improvement in size of the long-standing menu favorite Bacon Swiss Crispy Chicken Sandwich. In the 30-second spot, the world-renowned plastic surgeon will appear, in his typical enthusiastic manner, to be addressing a patient during a consultation for a breast augmentation. As the upbeat Dr. Rey offers reassurance that in this case going "bigger is better," the camera reveals the doctor's unusual patient is, in fact, a chicken.

"Carl's Jr. is known for fresh advertising that promotes a hip lifestyle, and they focus on providing their customers with quality products and service, too," said Dr. Rey. "Quality is a key part of my business, as well, so being involved with the brand made sense for me. Plus, my daughter is a big fan of Carl's Jr. so she was anxious to have me appear in one of their commercials."

Starting Monday, the spot can be viewed online in the Now on TV section of www.carlsjr.com. The new commercial carries on a decade-long strategy at Carl's Jr. to utilize innovative advertising intended to appeal to young, hungry guys. The ad was created by Los Angeles-based advertising agency, Mendelsohn|Zien, also the masterminds of many iconic Carl's Jr. ads including last year's Paris Hilton commercial, "That's Hot," and the memorable, "If it doesn't get all over the place, it doesn't belong in your face" campaign from the 1990's.

"Dr. Rey was the perfect choice to help us communicate that our chicken breasts are now 25 percent bigger," said Brad Haley, executive vice president of marketing for Carl's Jr. "The ad is very funny and is sort of an edgier, updated 'Charlie the Tuna' type of spot since only chickens with naturally larger breasts can make it into a Carl's Jr. chicken sandwich. But we didn't just make them bigger," Haley added, "we made them better-tasting by using a more highly seasoned breading."

Carl's Jr. is committed to offering customers quality menu options such as the sit-down restaurant style Six Dollar Burger(TM), which features 100 percent Angus beef. The reintroduction of the Bacon Swiss Crispy Chicken Sandwich boasts a breaded chicken breast that is 25 percent larger than its predecessor and larger than those found at every other major quick-service chain -- other than sister brand Hardee's. The larger, improved chicken fillet is topped with creamy ranch dressing, two crispy strips of bacon, Swiss cheese, tomato and lettuce, all on a sesame seed bun. The sandwich sells for $4.19 alone or for $5.99 as part of a combo, although pricing varies regionally.

Carl's Jr. is a wholly owned subsidiary of CKE Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:CKR) of Carpinteria, Calif. As of the fiscal year ended Jan. 30, 2006, CKE Restaurants, Inc., through its subsidiaries, had a total of 3,160 franchised or company-owned restaurants in 43 states and in 13 countries, including 1,049 Carl's Jr. restaurants, 1,993 Hardee's(R) restaurants and 102 La Salsa Fresh Mexican Grill(R) restaurants. For more information, or to find a Carl's Jr. near you, go to www.ckr.com or www.carlsjr.com.

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060428/LAF023
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: Carl's Jr.

CONTACT: Anne Hallock of Carl's Jr., +1-805-745-7741, ahallock@ckr.com;
or Kate Greenberg of Weber Shandwick, +1-310-854-8264,
kgreenberg@webershandwick.com, for Carl's Jr.

Web site: http://www.ckr.com/

Web site: http://www.carlsjr.com/

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