Tag: Carls Jr

Carl’s Jr. Updates Its Ad Creatives With A Twitch Livestream Of Explosions

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Carl’s Jr., notorious for some of its provocative and exploitative ads, is looking to update its brand image by promising its future commercials will focus on “food, not boobs.” The fast food chain chose to broadcast that creative transformation on Twitch with a tongue-in-cheek demolition session of the props featured in its previous ads. The branded livestream took over Twitch’s homepage on Saturday, April 8 from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. EST, and featured the chain’s fictional founder Carl Hardee Sr. and his son obliterating bikinis and tanning oil with the help of YouTube stars “The Slow-Mo Guys.” The experience also takes advantage of Twitch’s interactive features, allowing the audience to chime in during the live broadcast to help the characters choose their methods of destruction.

What Brands Need To Do
This is not the first time Carl’s Jr. has leverage Twitch’s platform to reach consumers in its online campaigns, as the company has hosted branded gameplay sessions with influencers and teamed up with Vice to create live commercial breaks. With 9.7 million daily active users, Twitch is a formidable force in online media that most brands have yet to tap into.

In recent years, the competitive gaming industry has grown into a media opportunity that brands should not ignore. Some early-adopting brands, such as Coca-Cola and Geico, have been sponsoring eSports events to reach its young, male-skewing audience. More brands should consider leveraging sponsorships and branded live streams to reach the growing number of viewers on eSports streaming sites.

Source: Creativity Online

Vice Broadcasts 72-Hour Twitch Livestream With Live Ads From Carl’s Jr.

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
To promote the launch of its video gaming-focused channel Waypoint, Vice Media hosted a 72-hour gaming marathon on Twitch over this past weekend. Starting Friday at noon, the Waypoint live stream ran on Twitch’s front page and featured gamers, musicians, and other guests playing 72 games over three straight days. Notably, the live stream also included live sketches sponsored by Carl’s Jr. as its brand mascot “Happy Star” interacted with the guests, handed out burgers, and performed funny stunts during breaks.

Although this marks the first time Vice Media tried live advertising on Twitch, Carl’s Jr is no stranger when it comes to sponsoring live broadcasts on Twitch. The quick-service restaurant chain hosted a 2-hour event on Twitch as part of its #UltimateCarePackage campaign, where guests played Call of Duty Black Ops III with in-game brand integrations and ate some Carl’s Jr burgers.

What Brands Should Do
Such experiments show how brands can leverage this type of in-stream branded content to reach the growing number of viewers on eSports streaming sites. In recent years, the competitive gaming industry has grown into a media opportunity that brands should not ignore. Some early-adopting brands, such as Coca-Cola and Geico, have been sponsoring eSports events to reach its young, male-skewing audience. More brands should consider leveraging the massive reach of eSports events to reach consumers via sponsorships or, as in Carl’s Jr.’s case, in-stream content integration.

 

Source: Variety

Header image is a screen capture from Waypoint’s Twitch Livestream