• by Shankar Gupta , February 15, 2006

CKE Restaurants, parent company of Carl's Jr. and Hardee's, has named Spacedog--the shop responsible for the racy "Spicy Paris" online spot that garnered so much traffic that the site's servers crashed--interactive agency of record.

Spacedog Managing Director Justin Callif said that the agency intends to incorporate user-created video and audio, as well as social networking sites, in its upcoming online efforts. "We want to create a platform that will allow their audience to create content around the brand--social networking, creative platforms, microsites--that will allow their audience to create content," he said. "We don't want to put Carl's and Hardee's in a situation where they have to develop their own content--there's so much content on the Web."

Brad Haley, executive vice president of marketing for Carl's Jr. and Hardee's, said Spacedog has taken on an increasing share of the company's interactive ad work since last May, when it launched the "Spicy Paris" campaign and also did a redesign for the Carl's Jr. Web site.

Haley said that Spacedog will preside over an increasingly large share of the CKE ad budget, as the company moves its dollars online. "As traditional advertising becomes less and less a part of our everyday lives, then we're open to all kinds of non-traditional contact and marketing with people," he said. "As the impact of TV ads is certain to diminish over time, we're obligated to explore all forms of nontraditional advertising."

Spacedog's Calliff said the agency is developing an upcoming cross-promotion with New Line Cinema's film "Take the Lead." For the initiative, slated to begin next month, CKE is offering the chance to win tickets to a screening of the film and a set of DJ equipment.