PARIS HILTON RUCKUS EXPANDS CKE MARKETING PLANS

Web Sites Transformed Into Product Placement Entertainment Centers

CHICAGO -- A racy commercial starring Paris Hilton has stirred up controversy for CKE Restaurants. But the company has bigger plans: It’s capitalizing on the attention generated from the spot to turn the Web sites for its Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s chains into popular entertainment destinations for young males.
Thanks to the racy Paris Hilton TV ad, CKE has adopted a long-term strategy to make the Internet its primary marketing medium.

And advertisers looking to connect with the lucrative demo are saying, “That’s hot.”

Boy toys fill virtual living room

The newly launched home pages for the burger chains resemble the living room of a bachelor pad, where all things cool among young men are at their fingertips. Products from Motorola are placed within the room, and an Olevia-branded flat screen TV hanging on the wall continuously showcases trailers for upcoming movies from Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema -- not to mention the Paris Hilton commercial -- and video games from game publishers THQ, Namco and Ubisoft. Napster, Vans and Maxim magazine also advertise their wares on the site. A deal with a video-game console maker is in the works.

The site also incorporates interactive features such as a wallet that includes a Club Paris napkin with a phone number that when called spouts funny rejections via gotrejected.com, an online voice-mail service sponsored by Vonage.



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