10 Hardee's Commercials That Had Us Asking 'How Did They Get Away With That?'

Wilber Hardee opened the first Hardee's in 1960, in Greenville, North Carolina. Wilber made good with his enterprise, since by the end of the decade there were already over 200 locations serving out burgers, fries, and milkshakes. During the chain's surging '80s, Hardee's reached 2,000 outposts, eventually getting bought by CKE Restaurants Holdings in 1997 (and gaining the partner brand Carl's Jr.).

Hardee's has had a similar origin and trajectory as many other famous burger chains in the country. Where Hardee's differed was its eventual marketing approach. Eschewing the industry's conventional family-friendly advertising, Hardee's (and Carl's Jr.) went straight for shameless, provocative, ribald, irreverent promos. This created some of the most scandalous TV commercial moments of the era — and a few of them can still draw a blush these days.

You might even watch them and ask, "How did they get away with that?" It certainly made us ask (hence the article). And although Hardee's has turned down the heat on its general advert approach (especially amid the burger chain's recent, well-publicized struggles), the raunchier, bawdier, more rascally spots from its not-too-distant past live on through the internet. Let's cover the little one's eyes and check out 10 of those controversial commercials.

It was "The Hamptons" episode of Season 5 of "Seinfeld" that placed the term shrinkage firmly into the cultural lexicon. George Costanza, who just got out of the pool, was walked in on while changing, his full, cold-water-prompted (ahem) phallic recession on display. The scene was a classic of the show, and shrinkage became the forever word for this particular phenomena.

When Hardee's debuted its Little Thickburger in 2008 — spinning off its popular, mega-mouthful original Thickburger –- the chain promoted the menu item with a series of short, straightforward TV spots. Generally they were isolated shots of the two burgers side-by-side accompanied by quippy text and voice-over.

The 15-second ad in this list entry (via YouTube) asks a VO'd and captioned question over a plain, white background: "What would happen if a Thickburger jumped into a cold swimming pool?" Cue the original Thickburger dropping into frame. The answer, followed by the entrance of the Little Thickburger alongside: "Shrinkage." Even 15 years after first airing, the "Seinfeld" line was as recognizable as ever. And, therefore, yes, Hardee's made a reference to male genitalia in a national commercial.

Person-on-the-street segments have an innate potential for humor. Putting seemingly regular folk on camera for impromptu purposes often does the comedy job on its own. Hardee's, in this commercial (via YouTube) adds a layer of bawd to the proceedings that cleverly avoids the wrath of the FCC. The spot even earned the "Funniest Commercial of the Year" title from TBS, back when that was a thing in 2009.

In the ad, an interviewer asks people to taste-test two items, both biscuit holes, labeled A and B respectively (or is it?). Hardee's biscuit hole is the '"B" hole and the competitor is the "A" hole. You see where this is going, don't you? The premise pretty much ensured that any response from anyone (and the people on-screen were certainly actors and not actual, regular humans) could be played for laughs.

And there were plenty of gems in there: "The A-hole is nasty." "The B-hole was kind of small." "I don't like the A-holes." The deadpan host only adds to the unblinking jocularity. Although the voice-over at the end leaves a bit to be desired (and questioned): "The best holes money can buy." Eh, doesn't quite hit the mark like the rest.

Here we're entering the terrain that Hardee's — in this instance Carl's Jr., actually — would become known-slash-infamous for. The old adage is that nudity sells. Hardee's and Carl's Jr., unlike many other enterprises who were either prudish or prudent (guess you could be both), embraced this concept fully.

This 2015 Super Bowl ad (via YouTube) would catapult the heretofore little-known model Charlotte McKinney into another stratosphere of fame. The lights-out gorgeous McKinney does little more than strut through an outdoor market while possibly naked. Well, the slightly obscured commercial version of possibly naked anyway. A cheeky series of visual jokes accompanies her slo-mo stroll (the butt-shaped tomato has to be a highlight) as various, gobsmacked men ogle her.

The spot was a promotion for the All Natural Burger from Carl's Jr. You can almost hear the pitch in the meeting with the ad people. McKinney would reappear in a Carl's Jr. commercial some time after, cross-promoting both the burger chain and the "Call of Duty" game "Black Ops III." But nothing would top the publicity from her first ad, one of the most famous Super Bowl spots ever – but is it one of the best, or one of the worst Super Bowl food commercials?

As we know, Hardee's and Carl's Jr. are essentially one in the same, and so the chains share the same advertising ethos. This 30-second spot (via YouTube) promoted the Mile High Bacon Thickburger attached to both brands. And if the first thing you think of when it comes to anything mile-high is Denver, then just go right to the second thing you think of. Undoubtedly it will lead you to a certain kind of club.

Set on an airplane, the action centers around an extremely attractive blonde sitting next to her inattentive boyfriend. After he casually rebuffs her proposition to "join the mile-high club" she turns to the taken-aback businessman in the other seat with the same proposition. He, of course, agrees.

This is when the woman pulls out two Mile High Thickburgers, which they both dig into rather passionately. Over lusty moans and lettuce-y crunches, the VO comes in: "Now anyone can join the mile-high club." The capper is the older woman in the dude's row giving him a thumbs up when he sheepishly looks over. Hard to tell if funny legacy ads like this heal the current wounds of Carl's Jr. franchisees filing for bankruptcy. Going to say probably not.

Hardee's sure loves its blondes. And for the release of its Texas Toast Bacon Cheese Thickburger (via YouTube), Hardee's went with what it knows. Casting an absolute bombshell as the woman viewers will either be gawking or rolling their eyes at, the chain enlisted Julie Henderson, a Sports Illustrated model from Houston. Hardee's liked to gamble on pushing the envelope — just like founder Wilbur Hardee gambled away his stake in the company, allegedly. Taking a risk is in the DNA of the company.

In this 30-second spot, a slow, bluesy guitar wails while Henderson wears a cowboy hat and does slow-motion barn things, like hanging rope, biting utility gloves off her hands, and sponge-bathing her arms (assuming those are all barn activities) — all with an old pickup truck parked in the background. This one aired back in 2010, with the release of the Texas Toast Thickburger, and offered fans a chance to win an autographed picture of Henderson through Hardee's social media. Sure, why not?

Influencer and, yes, blonde woman Alix Earle was the star of this 2025 Carl's Jr. spot (via YouTube) –- which was a different kind of Super Bowl ad. The promotion was for a free Hangover Burger the day after the Super Bowl, which came with simply downloading the app and signing up for the rewards. Quite a deal, to be honest. This might be a yearly promotion that Carl's Jr. will be running, having now done it two Super Bowls in a row, in honor of what's now dubbed National Hangover Day apparently. (Although greasy food has long been debunked as a hangover cure).

In the commercial proper, Earle goes from her behind-the-scenes makeup mirror to the "set": the front yard of possibly a frat house, with revelers messing around and laying about in recovery from a sloshy Big Game bash. It's not a Carl's Jr. or Hardee's commercial without a bit of slow-motion hot-girl stuff, this time with Earle taking a bite of the Hangover Burger and squirting sauce all over a passed-out bro, who awakes bathed in her (the burger's?) heavenly light. To be fair, bacon would feel like a gift from a god when you're in the midst of a severe, morning-after katzenjammer.

This 30-second Carl's Jr. spot is a bit of a deep cut from a while back, namely the mid-1990s. A young Seth Green — before "Can't Hardly Wait," "Family Guy," and "Robot Chicken" fame — and a friend are hanging out in some industrial back alley that would work for an action movie shootout scene (via YouTube).

As they both munch and crunch on a Double Western Bacon Cheeseburger (by the way, kudos to the sound team on all these Hardee's commercials, it really makes you want to eat), the barbecue sauce is splattering beneath them on the ground. They proceed to point out what each splatters looks like to them: "an eggbeater," "a baby shaving," "two elephants kissing."

The best one though: "it's Gandhi doing that Heisman trophy thing." Why the mention of Gandhi feels controversial in a burger ad is tough to say exactly. He's just a figure in history like, say, Lincoln, right? Although, if they had replaced Gandhi with, for example, Martin Luther King, Jr. (a closer comp), you could easily imagine an uproar. Of course, it's not a Carl's Jr. commercial without womanly curves, and these come via the final splatter-silhouette.

We're transported to a remote, tropical island (via YouTube). Bobby Darin's "Beyond the Sea" is playing. Striding across the sand in, you guessed it, slow-motion, is a stunning, bikini-clad female, brushing back her hair and taking in the sunshine. She eventually sits down on a towel to enjoy herself a Charbroiled Atlantic Cod Fish Sandwich from either Hardee's or Carl's Jr. (whichever has a location in the middle of the ocean).

After eating the sandwich in an unrealistically yet characteristically provocative manner, she decided to drop the top and sunbathe. Entering the frame is a toned man in swimming trunks, throwing a flirty "Nice sandwich" at her. Thing is, he's red as the dickens, save for where the sunglasses sat on his face. Heh.

Cue the VO: "Sometimes you don't want to get fried." A good line, especially when promoting a rare, non-fried fish sandwich from a fast food chain (which works just as well as the fried type for Lent, by the way). Credit to Hardee's and Carl's Jr. for attempting a healthier pescatarian version. Also credit for getting away with about 65% bare breasts in a TV ad.

This is a real throwback, with an actor who would go on to be a major star of TV and film. Hey, commercials are jobs, and performers need to work. Gillian Anderson was no exception at one time, especially in 1990 when this spot first aired (this was still three years before "The X-Files" would premiere). There's a lot that could be read into this racy little narrative that goes on in the ad — and that was probably the point (via YouTube).

Oddly, the commercial promoted Hardee's takeover of Roy Rogers, the popular chicken chain from the 1980s that fell spectacularly (although it has been attempting a comeback in New Jersey). On the phone with some mystery man, Anderson's character plans a rendezvous — could be a blind date, could be a hookup? "There's a Roy Rogers on Main," she says. "Meet me there at 6." The man agrees, saying he'll be in a red convertible.

Come time, Anderson is standing outside the now-Hardee's, waiting for this man in a red convertible. A greasy-looking fella in said vehicle finally pulls up to Anderson. "Hey, babe, is there a Roy Rogers around here?" Looking up at Hardee's she returns: "Never heard of it." So much for your date, bro. Find yourself another date.

It was 1992 when Sir Mix-A-Lot released his era-defining smash hit "Baby Got Back." This unabashed celebration of protuberant posteriors became recognized by babies, old people, and everyone in between — bringing blush-worthy bombast into the mainstream American home. And although the rapper would never top the insane success of the song, its spoof by Hardee's years later would prove its staying power.

To promote the release of its patty melt (via YouTube), Hardee's did a little inverse callback to Sir Mix-A-Lot's single, with two Caucasian high-schoolers extolling the virtues of flat buns ... patty melts ... but also actual rear ends. The schoolboy fantasy of the hot teacher is shamelessly exploited by the chain, but there are some ridiculous, amusing lines, to be sure: "No heinie?/I call you your highness/In anatomy class/You got a butt-minus."

It's hard to imagine a commercial like this making it to air on television these days, at least on national or regional TV. The internet has opened up all new avenues for advertisements, with less gatekeepers than traditional TV, so there are plenty of edgy promos out and about on there. But the fact that Hardee's would go for it on a medium that's broadcast into every family's living room ... what can you say, the burger chain was ballsy.