• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, February 4, 2019

In 2017, Carl’s Jr. and sibling QSR Hardee’s stunned the “young, hungry guys” they’d been wooing for years when the brands dropped ads featuring scantily clad supermodels in favor of pitching food quality. 

Now, the lads are getting another shock: a new campaign from Carl’s Jr. that not only promotes plant-based charbroiled burgers… but features yoga on the beach. 

The chain announced last month that it had partnered with plant-based protein innovator Beyond Meat to offer the Beyond Famous Star burger — a flexitarian take on its most popular menu item, the Famous Star beef burger. 

On Sunday, it debuted its first TV ad for the plant-based burgers, with a buy in the Los Angeles market during the Super Bowl. 

For those who fear that Carl’s Jr. might lose its sense of humor as it tries to attract a broader customer base, the good news is that the new ad — for the Beyond Famous Star with Cheese — acknowledges the humor in a burger chain offering such a trendy item, while still promoting its tastiness. 

The 30-second ad (below), from the Arnold agency, takes place during a yoga class on chichi Malibu beach, but the pretentiousness is countered by its narrator: a grizzled dude who looks left over from California Gold Rush days, who out-yogas the toned practitioners around him. 

The ad will be airing in all of Carl’s Jr.’s markets in the weeks ahead.