990540 Hardee's Has New Burgers and New Advertising

Rocky Mount, NC - Hardee's restaurants across the country introduce three new hamburgers to their menu today that will have guests seeing stars. The company also launches a fun and aggressive advertising campaign to support the new burgers, featuring a costumed Star as spokesperson for the brand.

The three new burgers all boast the word “star” in their names. The Famous Star(TM) is a big, juicy burger loaded with everything -- lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles, mayonnaise and a special sauce. The All Star Bacon Cheeseburger is all that and more -- with crispy bacon and melting cheese. And the Super Star(r), with nearly half a pound of beef, is made to satisfy the heartiest of appetites.

“We've spent the past several months enhancing the taste of our food, specifically, our burgers, and improving our guest service,” said Rory Murphy, president and chief operating officer of Hardee's. “This is our chance to say, 'hey, look what's happening at Hardee's. There's something big going on here. We've changed for the better.”'

The Hardee's Star makes his debut today in a series of radio and television commercials, as well as print advertising, with the tagline, “Hardee's. Where the food's the star.” The commercials feature the voice of Norm Macdonald, sitcom actor and star of “The Norm Show” show on ABC.

“Think of the Hardee's Star as your consumer advocate,” said Robert Wisely, executive vice president of marketing for CKE Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE: CKR - news), parent company of Hardee's. “The Star puts a new, contemporary face on Hardee's, which is focused on better quality and serving our guests burgers that are bigger, juicier and better-tasting than anything we have had before. We believe this new campaign will attract more young adults into our restaurants at lunch and dinner, to enjoy the same great quality that our loyal Hardee's guests have experienced with our Made From Scratch(TM) Biscuit breakfast.”

The campaign was developed by The Leap Partnership, Chicago (Nasdaq: LEAP - news), Hardee's national agency of record. The Hardee's Star campaign was introduced in 10 markets earlier this year: St. Louis (Mo.), Atlanta (Ga.), Champaign (Ill.), Greensboro (N.C.), Beckley/Bluefield (W.Va.), Charleston/Huntington (W.Va.), Clarksburg (W.Va.), Peoria (Ill.), Tri-Cities (Va. and Tenn.) and Quincy (Ill.). Consumers in those markets indicated they liked the Hardee's Star, especially when he spoke up for them about improving the taste of Hardee's hamburgers. The systemwide campaign will continue to build on that food-focused advertising.

Hardee's adapted the star logo from its sister company on the West Coast, Carl's Jr. Earlier this year, Hardee's announced that it planned to revitalize its brand and remodel all of its restaurants to the “Star Hardee's” concept by the year 2002. Star Hardee's marks a return for the chain to its heritage of charbroiled hamburgers. It also involves the introduction of new charbroiled chicken sandwiches, the continuation of Hardee's favorites such as Made From Scratch(TM) Biscuits and freshly sliced roast beef, the added value of all-you- can drink beverage bars and table service, and a brighter, remodeled restaurant, both inside and out.

To date, more than 250 Hardee's restaurants in nine states have been remodeled to Star Hardee's. Hardee's expects to remodel at least 300-400 company-owned and 100-200 franchise-owned restaurants by the end of this year.

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