Carl’s Jr. goes after Burger King in new ‘Stealing the Crown’ diss marketing campaign

Carl’s Jr. is launching another diss marketing campaign, and this time it’s going after Burger King.

The CKE Restaurants Holdings brand is inviting customers to upload an image of a paper crown or receipt from a “royally disappointing burger chain” as part of Carl’s Jr.’s “Steal the Crown” campaign. In return, customers will receive a promo code for a free Angus Maximus burger – the brand’s new limited-time menu item.

“A burger worth fighting for shouldn’t be waiting for you in a holding cabinet — it should hit the grill when you order it,” Carl’s Jr. CMO Burge Diemer said in a statement.

The free burger promotion is available for a limited time and available to My Rewards loyalty members on the Carl’s Jr. app or anyone can submit their receipts via a DM to the brand’s Instagram page.

The Franklin, Tennessee-based brand pulled a similar stunt last November, with its “Sad Mac Buy Back” promotion that went after McDonald’s. For that limited-time marketing campaign, customers were invited to upload a McDonald’s receipt to the Carl’s Jr. app in exchange for a free Cali XL burger reward, the burger the brand was promoting at the time.

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McDonald’s has become an easy target over the past couple of years due to declining traffic, inspiring brands like Carl’s Jr., Burger King, and Chili’s to make fun of the once-indisputable king of fast-food.

In this instance, Carl’s Jr. is challenging a chain that’s been on a hot streak. Burger King’s same-store sales soared by 8.5% last quarter and the brand had one of its best earnings periods in recent history. The brand’s performance was largely attributed to a blitz marketing campaign and long-term efforts to improve both operations and food quality — including a well-reviewed revamp of the Whopper.

But still, Carl’s Jr. aims to convince customers to give their burgers a shot over Burger King, based on freshness and food quality.

Carl’s Jr.’s Angus Maximus is made with two seasoned Angus beef patties (5.7 ounces total), melted American cheese, sliced onions, dill pickles and special sauce, on a brioche bun.

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