Boycott announced after fast-food chain’s ad featuring porn icon

A pro-family group and a Christian radio talk-show host are urging supporters to boycott a fast-food chain over a new TV commercial that they say “promotes immorality” because it features “Playboy” magazine founder Hugh Hefner. In early November, Carl’s Jr. — which has restaurants primarily in the western United States — began airing the ads with Hefner and several Playboy bunnies.

According to a press release by CKE, the parent company of Carl’s Jr., the ad campaign spotlights a new variety of burgers by the chain, and the commercial “humorously alludes to Hefner’s enjoyment of variety.”

“Who better to deliver the message of variety than Hugh Hefner?” Andy Puzder, president and CEO of CKE, which also owns Hardee’s and La Salsa Fresh Mexican Grills, said in a statement. “We’re appealing to an audience of young, hungry guys who expect a quality product but want to have something different from time to time.”

In the same release, Hefner said he is a hamburger lover and doing the commercial was a “good business opportunity since we share a similar target audience — namely, guys.”

However, American Family Association (AFA) founder and chairman Don Wildmon blasted the involvement of Hefner and the ad’s anti-family message. “I hope you are disturbed about this as much as I am,” Wildmon wrote to members of OneMillionDads.com and OneMillionMoms.com. “Hugh Hefner made his fortune by exploiting women as mere sex objects and tempting men to cheat on their wives.”

Wildmon encouraged the online activist groups not to eat at CKE Restaurants, which operates more than 3,200 establishments in 44 states and in 14 countries.

Meanwhile, Paul McGuire, host of the syndicated program “Paul McGuire Show,” is urging his 100,000 listeners to boycott Carl’s Jr. He noted that the chain also has another ad showing a model simulating sexual moves while riding a mechanical bull.

“It’s immorality right in your face,” McGuire, 50, a professor at The King’s College and Seminary in Van Nuys, told Charisma News Service. “These ads are morally offensive, and they promote immorality. Carl’s Jr. is my favorite fast-food restaurant, but I recently drove 10 miles out of my way to go to McDonald’s.”

McGuire, a regular commentator on CNN and Fox News and the author of 14 books, said he would return to Carl’s Jr., if the ads were dropped.

— Charisma News Service

“They’re very irresponsible,” said McGuire, who has been married 26 years and has three children. “A good retailer would never have Hugh Hefner as spokesperson. They’re not selling condoms, but hamburgers to families.”

Elsewhere, Focus on the Family (FOTF) chairman James Dobson is urging families to boycott clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch for a Christmas catalog that he says is filled with pornographic photos and stories.

“This organization is doing enormous damage to the morality of the young people of this country,” Dobson told FOTF radio listeners last week. “On the cover [of the catalog], it talks about group sex, and inside it talks in a very positive way about the entertainment value and the fun that people can have with orgies.

“If you listen to me for advice on anything, listen to this: Don’t buy anything from Abercrombie & Fitch, because they’re corrupting your kids,” Dobson added.

Last year, Abercrombie & Fitch pulled controversial underwear for young girls from its shelves, days after the AFA urged parents to bombard the company with complaints.