A large part of answering my essential question: What makes a successful advertisement? has been looking at what actually doesn’t make an advertisement successful. This week I studied Carls Jr. and their infamously controversial burger commercials from the mid-2000s in hopes to examine just that. In the article, I explore what the success of an advertisement (controversial in this case) really means for society. Does the widespread notoriety of these controversial commercials mean a furthering of their ideals? Does the widespread notoriety of these controversial commercials mean an increased sense of justification for the message they display?

In order to better understand these questions, I looked at the ways in which Carls Jr’s commercials promoted the objectification of and sexualization of women, along with white western beauty standards. With these insights in mind, I hoped to answer a larger concern on the possible psychological impacts of advertising on society.

To preface, this article (or case study if you will) is only a draft. I hope to finish it by next week.

(Article Draft) Carls Jr. Case Study: What is the consequence of success?