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Not a "choice" jokeWhat's the difference between an Angus and an anus? No, it's not a joke. And it certainly isn't funny. Especially not to fast food chain Hardee's or to Angus breeders. Recently Jack in the Box restaurants launched a commercial campaign that suggests that their competitor's Angus burgers come from the anus of cattle. In the commercial, the Jack in the Box mascot is pitching their new sirloin burger to top executives by showing them where the sirloin is on a diagram of a steer. When one executive asks Jack to point to the "Angus," he says, "I'd rather not." Another commercial shows executives laughing uncontrollably at the word, "Angus." As a result, the parent company of Hardee's and Carl's Jr., CKE Restaurants Inc. sued Jack in the Box in U.S. District Court. CKE claims the ad are misleading and not funny at all. Who knew that the name of a breed of cattle could stir up this much controversy? When cattle producers in Angus County, Scotland, developed a breed of cattle that has stood the test of time, they certainly did not do market research on the connotations of the name. But the American Angus Association has worked long and hard to move the name "Angus" from simply a breed of cattle to a brand name. In 1978, they developed the Certified Angus Beef program that added the next step in the food chain. Way ahead of their time, they were looking at marketing meat, not cattle. There are many more Angus beef programs today, showing just how successful the cattlemen have been in establishing "Angus" as a name synonymous with high quality beef. But now, a group of sophomoric advertising executives are making a joke of it. The sad thing is that most people don't know how big of joke the ads really are. They don't realize that the commericals are comparing a cut of beef to a breed of cattle. The advertisements most likely won't be anything that has long-term effects. And the lawsuit has probably drawn more attention to it, than if CKE had just let the advertising campaign run its course. There is one thing that is certain, however--apparently Jack in the Box's advertising campaigns are run by people with the sense of humor of a high school boy. Holly Martin can be reached by phone at 1-800-452-7171 ext. 1806 or e-mail at hmartin@hpj.com. 6/4/07
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