Carl’s Jr. Teams With Skater Dyrdek To Reach Young Males

Dyrdek Wants To Utilize Corporate Zone In Proper Way

QSR Carl's Jr. is partnering with skateboarder Rob Dyrdek on several efforts, including "sponsoring a skate park in downtown Los Angeles, putting [his] photograph on its cups, and being featured on 'Rob Dyrdek’s Fantasy Factor,'” Dyrdek's MTV show, according to Stephanie Clifford of the N.Y. TIMES. Andrew Puzder, CEO of Carl’s Jr. parent company CKE Restaurants, said, “I can’t do things where I’m going to get lost in the clutter and out-advertised.” Puzder: “We decided the people we wanted to target were young, hungry guys.” Clifford notes Puzder later this month will appear on an episode of “Fantasy Factory” in which he offers Dyrdek a donation to the skate park with Dyrdek agreeing "to promote Carl’s Jr. in return.” Dyrdek: “I want to show there’s corporate companies that will help skateboarding, as opposed to just use it for demographics. It’s important to me, if I’m going to go out and step into the corporate zone, to make sure I utilize it in a proper way.” Clifford reports the Carl’s Jr. logo, a large yellow star, is “built into the design of the skate park,” and Dyrdek has posted videos on YouTube “showing stunts of him skating in a Carl’s Jr. franchise.” The QSR “sold out of 3.5 million Rob Dyrdek cups in a little more than a month.” Puzder: “There’s a lot of bang for the buck in this stuff. It’s not as expensive as running an ad to do something with Rob -- we contribute to his skate park, and you get a lot of free media from that” (N.Y. TIMES, 3/18).