Carl’s Jr. Wants You To Make Their Commercial

Did you know that Carl’s Jr. is turning 85 this year? You didn’t? Wouldn’t blame you, to be honest – most people don’t keep up with the exact ages of fast food chains. That’s not for lack of Carl’s Jr. trying to alert everyone to that fact, though: It’s going on a big old news and offer blitz at the moment to celebrate its birthday, and taking a pause from throwing hands at Jack in the Box to do so. A few days ago, we were talking about its 85-cent burger offer – and now we bring you news of a slightly higher-value one. 

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There’s a catch, though. You can win a lot of money here – but Carl’s Jr. wants you to put in the work first. 

Carl’s Jr.’s $85,000 Giveaway: May Require Some Editing Skills

In a press release yesterday, Carl’s Jr. revealed that it was celebrating 85 years of being in operation with an $85,000 giveaway. One lucky person will take home the grand prize of cold, hard cash – BUT they have to do something first.

And said thing is “make a commercial.” Well, in a sense. Carl’s Jr. says that “participants are invited to create and submit an original 30- to 60- second video showing their spin on an iconic Carl’s Jr ad,” before going on to state that these takes on its ads should “infuse the brand’s bold personality and craveable menu items using their own authentic style.” Carl’s Jr. says that social media videos, jingles, and even full-scale “iconic” commercials will be considered. 

Those who want to get involved can enter from July 20 to August 7, by posting their work online, tagging Carl’s Jr.’s social media handle, and including the hashtags #MyCarlsJrAd and #Carls85th. The top 10 finalists will go through to a public vote, and the winner (decided by engagement and a selection committee) will win the cash! Couple of steps to get through on this one, but if you’re a budding content creator and you see yourself in for a shot, check out the official rules here, and then get filming. 

The Future Is Content

Carl’s Jr.’s giveaway via social media got me thinking of another, similar instance of this, and about how fast food companies are increasingly engaging in an interplay of content and prizes/payment for their fans. A few months ago, Wendy’s announced that it was looking for a Chief Tasting Officer, a position that came with a six-figure salary – and instead of using a traditional job application, it invited interested parties to submit a creative video application. The eventual CTO, Amber Luster, was announced in June — so as far as we can tell, that wasn’t just a gimmick on the part of the restaurant chain.

But is this the new thing? We enter things through self-produced Reels and TikTok videos? Hopefully not; that sounds like a lot of effort. For this one, though, you might want to fire up CapCut.