The new Jack in the Box ad campaign must be having an effect in the market because its competitors are suing. I don’t know what kind of moron would bring this kind of lawsuit with all the attendant publicity, but whatever kind of moron it is works for the parent company of Carl’s Jr. and Hardees.
Seems like the Jack in the Box ad people wanted to take a swipe at their competitors’ claims that they serve Angus burgers by intimating that what they’re really serving is ‘anus’ burgers. As everyone with half a brain knows, Angus is a breed of cattle while anus is…well, we all know what an anus is.
Angus cattle have somehow become synonymous with tasty beef. No one ever advertises Hereford beef or Shorthorn beef or Charolais or any of the other breeds of beef cattle: only Angus. The Jack in the Box competitors make the claim that their burgers are pure Angus beef. So the ad people at Jack in the Box decide to make a little play on the resemblance of the words ‘Angus’ and ‘anus.’ I suppose beef eaters everywhere like to eat Angus meat but few would relish steer anus irrespective of what breed it came from. In my opinion the Jack in the Box ads are hilariously clever. And I’m sure most people viewing these ads would see the humor in them. but not so the Carl’s Jr. and Hardees honchos. The lawsuits are flying. (Link)
Here is the offending commercial:
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The official website of Drs. Michael and Mary Dan Eades, low carb pioneers and authors of Protein Power.
I think the humor of that ad relies on the knowledge that sirloin is a cut and Angus is a breed. And, yeah, I think the ad is hilarious. On the other hand, I’m aware of how utterly clueless a LOT of Americans are about food, and I can understand the competitors being worried about the confusion that ad could create among less informed viewers.
Hi Alex–
I agree that there might be some confusion among the great unwashed masses. But, in my opinion, the better way to deal with this confusion would be to get your ad agency to come up with a series of clever ads bashing Jack in the Box while informing people about why your Angus beef burgers are better. By filing a lawsuit all you do is bring it to the public eye and get everyone to watch for your competitor’s ads. That’s how I found out. If I hadn’t read about the lawsuit, I would never have known, and would never had seen the ad.
Cheers–
MRE
Some years ago I was in a local restaurant; the menu had a spelling error on it.
Yes, you guessed right, it was the “Anus burger”.
I wonder how many were ordered.
Cheers–
MRE
Dr. Eades,
Not related to this post, but I just wanted to share a success story with you. I’ve been doing PPLP for about 5 or 6 months. My physical from two years ago, revealed the following numbers.
Triglycerides-179 mg/dl
Glucose-105 mg/dl
Total Cholesterol-211 mg/dl
HDL-53
LDL-122
VLDL-(the photocopy I received is illegible here, but doing the math I assume it was 4)
Blood Pressure-144/87 mm Hg
I had blood work done recently and these are the results:
Triglycerides-75 (decreased by 104)
Glucose-88 (decreased by 17)
HDL-53 (remained constant)
LDL-179 (increased by 57)
VLDL-15 (it seems to have increased by 11 if my math is correct)
Blood Pressure-126/70 (big decrease)
Pretty significant improvements I think, with the exception of the LDL count, which I assume are of the fluffy cotton ball type. My doctor wants to put me on cholesterol medicine if I can’t bring my LDL down in a month. I initially tried to explain to her the knowledge I gleaned from PPLP about low carbing and the fluffy sub-class of LDL, but she had no clue. (In fact she became visibly agitated that I had the gall to presume to question her expertise.) Also, I’m concerned about the VLDL, as it seems to have increased from 4 to 15. Is this cause for concern? Your book states that the most reliable health risk factor is the triglyceride/HDL ratio. Mine is 1.42 in this case.
Again, I attempted to address the specific trends with my doc, to no avail. I’m currently searching for a doctor in my community who subscribes to the low carb approach to health diet, but no luck so far. So I guess I’m asking you if in your clinical experience, do my trends look familiar? Or is this insufficient information for you?
Anyway, my layman’s view is that PP works. Thanks for your time!
Hi Thomas–
Thanks for your report. Your switch to PP did definitely change your blood work for the better. I think your VLDL was probably 40, not 4. But based on the labs you posted I would think it would be more in the range of 36. Most labs don’t actually measure LDL, they calculate LDL by means of the Friedwald equation.
Total cholesterol is made of HDL-cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and VLDL-cholesterol, so the equation is as follows:
Total cholesterol = HDL + LDL + VLDL.
The way most labs determine these lab values is to measure total cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol and triglycerides. According to Friedwald VLDL can be estimated by dividing the triglycerides by 5. (I have an argument with this, but for this discussion that’s beside the point.) Making the triglyceride substitution for VLDL makes the equation as follows:
Total cholesterol = HDL + LDL + triglycerides/5
If the total cholesterol, HDL and triglycerides are measured leaving the LDL as the unknown the equation is rearranged thus:
LDL = Total cholesterol – HDL – triglycerides/5
In your pre PP days this would come out to be:
LDL = 211 – 53 – 179/5 (35.8 rounded up to 36) or 211-53-36 = 122 (which is your lab value for LDL)
So, all lipid parameters improved except for LDL, which went up some. At least a dozen scientific papers have demonstrated that when triglyceride levels fall, LDL particles get larger. And it is well known (not to your physician, however) that larger LDL particles are not harmful as are the smaller, denser LDL particles. So, you had an improvement all the way around lipid-wise. (That is, if you believe in the lipid hypothesis, which I don’t.)
Good luck in your search for a more knowledgeable physician. Let me know where you live and maybe I or one of the readers of this blog will know of one.
Cheers–
MRE
My husband and I actually saw this ad on TV Saturday and we just howled! It is so clever. I can’t believe the idiots at Carl’s and Hardee’s would waste their time and money on lawsuits. Yep, get some better ad execs, boys, and bring on your OWN clever commercials!
Which reminds me – I detest the Carl’s commercials where stuff drips all over the place….
Mike,
Hilarious indeed! (about the ‘angus area’).
On a different note, however, I can’t get enough of the models myself! The detail is amazing! I kept looking at the picture of the soldiers carrying a log on their shoulders (the first picture of soldiers carrying a log actually). Does the soldier in front has his shoes on the wrong feet???? 🙂
Kinda looks that way!!!
Thanks for the links!
Hi Gabe–
Good to hear from you. It’s been a while.
Glad you enjoyed the models; I did too. But not enough to make them myself.
I went back and looked at the shoes on the guy carrying the log. In one picture it sort of looks like he’s got a right shoe on his left foot, but they look okay in the others.
Cheers–
MRE
Thank you! Those Jack in the Box ads really get me laughing, and the idea of the competitors rushing to lawyers is even funnier. Way funnier than Carl’s Jr’s oh-so-cool ads.
I liked the one where Jack’s son said he wanted to be a vegetarian (he meant to say, veterinarian)
This is the funniest commercial I’ve seen in a long time! Thank you so much for the laugh!
Off topic: We went to Jefferson Barracks Cemetery yesterday to be at the Memorial Service. I’m looking forward to going back when it’s not so crowded and explore the whole park. I posted some pictures of the service on my blog if you’d like to see them.
Hi Amy–
I would love to see thephotos as Jefferson Barracks is where I spent a good deal of my youth. But I checked your blog and didn’t find them. What’s the URL?
Cheers–
MRE
“If I hadn’t read about the lawsuit, I would never have known, and would never had seen the ad.”
I had a similar thought when I read this story the other week. What better way to keep the rumor that he’s trying to squelch on the front burner?
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/05/23/fired.gossip.ap/index.html
Precisely. So many people shoot first then try to aim later.
Cheers–
MRE
I laughed when I first saw that commercial. This reminds me of an organization in Britain which set out to give McDonald’s a very bad time. They started out by doing a lot of research on McD’s corporate practices and found out what is really in the 100% beef patty. Like in American hot dogs, where every bit of the pig is used, McD’s uses every part of the cow–at one point, the group discovered a warehouse full of anuses(anii?)it was either several thousand anuses or several thousand pounds thereof.
This of course, resulted in very bad publicity for McD’s and they tried to disavow the purchase. I haven’t kept up with the end results, but I remember cracking up over the mental picture of thousands of anuses! This makes the commercial a little to close to the truth!
Hi LC–
I don’t know much about cow anuses, but I’ve dealt with a lot of horses anuses in my time.
Cheers–
MRE
I saw this Jack in the Box ad about a week ago and just about lost my lunch from laughing so hard. It is indeed a classic and Hardee’s just needs to get over it already.
Yes, the average American doesn’t care what Angus or Sirloin means, they just want a great-tasting burger. If they can be convinced that one grade or brand of meat is better than another, then they’ll be willing to pay the big bucks for it (that’s how Hardee’s gets away with charging $4 for their Thickburgers!).
As for the lawsuit, Hardee’s needs to get a life! All they are doing is giving more publicity to Jack in the Box–which we know, good or bad, usually works to the benefit of the controversial subject.
Don’t you know the marketing execs for Jack in the Box are laughing their heads off at the corporate offices right about now.
Yep, Carl’s Jr. and Hardees went for it hook, line and sinker.
Cheers–
MRE
While I’m reasonably certain that as many as two percent of lawyers are actually a net beneficial to society, this is another example of how we’d just be better of, if necessary, getting rid of all of them.
Very funny ad.
Hi KAZ–
One of my favorite things to do when I’m introduced to someone and I find out that he/she is a lawyer is to say: I hope you’re not one of the 99 percent that make the other 1 percent look bad.
Cheers–
MRE
Sorry, forgot the url for the photos. Here ya go: http://lovinglowcarblife.blogspot.com/2007/05/memorial-day-at-jefferson-barracks.html
Mostly pictures of the service, but I plan to go back and get pictures of the whole park.
Thanks, Amy–
I walked across that giant field of graves hundreds of times as a kid. I used to go swimming in the National Guard pool and had to cross the cemetery to get there, which I did just about every day during the summer.
Best–
MRE
Hardee’s and Carl’s, aren’t they the ones who had some borderline pornographic ads about a year or two ago that created a bit of a public outcry?
I remember one featured a woman in skin tight jeans and t-shirt writhing around straddling a mechanical bull on super-slow speed while eating a burger to Foghat’s song “Slow Ride.” The other one involved Paris Hilton in a swimsuit, but I never saw that one.
Not that I’m complaining about either ad, personally… 😉
Yep, those were the ones. I think they were Carl’s Jr. ads. I did see the Paris Hilton one, but not the other, so I don’t know if it was Carl’s or Hardees.
Cheers–
MRE
Dr. Eades,
Many thanks for the assessment. I live in Fayetteville, NC, by the way.
I guess I’m more excited about my improved blood profile than you because I didn’t expect such dramatic changes. You’re used to seeing it. It’s still hard, after decades of media brainwashing, to wrap my brain around the fact that removing sugar (carbs) from my diet improved my triglycerides, VLDL etc. I wandered around between dilatante and hedonist, ate much more fat (including bunless Hardees Monster burgers occasionally! lol), and yet my triglycerides dropped over 100 points and VLDL by 25.
To be honest, I was quite skeptical about PP/low-carbing in the first place because these days, due to all the media-enabling controversy and hype, unless one is a medical professional one has no idea who to believe about diet. Your books convinced me to give your approach a try because of how clearly you spell out the effects of chronically elevated insulin levels, and what happens inside the body when insulin is kept low. I also read a good bit of the research you’ve cited. As I stated, I was skeptical. Now I’m a believer. PP clearly lives up to its promises. Many thanks.
Thomas
Hi Thomas–
I’m happy to hear that you’ve done so well. Keep it up!
Cheers–
MRE
Funny.
Interesting. Angus is a breed (like Wagyu, Hereford, Chianina, etc). Sirloin is a cut found on all but the most misshapen cows. Angus is prized for it’s marbling and tenderness. It’s kind of like a lower priced Wagyu for the masses. But a lot of folks think it’s kind of flavor light (certainly compared with a Wagyu or a Chianina). I guess it really depends on what you’re looking for and what your application is. Since you can use pretty much any piece of cow in a burger, I think sirloin is a little more comforting than Angus (you might in fact be getting the Angus’s nether regions), but sirloin is generally a little light on the fat, so I dunno that that’s a sale point either.
FWIW: I don’t get burgers at either anymore. If I want a burger, it’s a restaurant burger or a home made one. It was the passage in Omnivore’s Dilemma about how a McD burger is more a Proustian Madeleine experience than a quality burger that put me off fast food burgers forever. The few I’ve had have been more emblematic of a burger than anything actual.
Hi Max–
Maybe you should eat a McD burger, take to your bed, and write about 800,000 words on the subject. You could call it In Search of Lost Nutrition.
Cheers–
MRE
lol What a funny commercial. I really don’t see the need for a lawsuit here. Jack and PR people are creative in the ad market. Macdonald’s needs to get over it already,I mean
lets see a reply in their ad market. I think people know what they like from both food franchises. Will Jacks Angus remarks steer people from Mac Donald’s I really don’t think so its a ad for goodness sake.
C’mon folks admit that you were searching “Angus” to get to this site – at least that is what I searched! I temporarily forgot high school Biology and Agricultural Science enough to second guess myself: “What?! I thought Angus was a breed?” Then googled it to confirm! I just had to laugh! Btw – I’m not a beefeater 🙂