Executive Vice President of Marketing Brad Haley says CKE is not creating big burgers for bigness' sake, but to make QSR food more like sit-down restaurant fare. Read or listen to an extended interview with Brad Haley.

How does it feel to be the bad boys?

As long as people respond to it, it feels pretty good. But we're not trying to develop big burgers just for bigness' sake. We decided several years ago to upgrade the quality of hamburgers that were available in fast food to make them more like the ones you get at sit-down restaurants. If that means they have more fat and calories, we  aren't apologetic about that. 

You attribute some of [your sales increases] to commercials that are a bit edgy. Can you talk about that?

We've had a few that raised some eyebrows, but our target is what we call young, hungry guys. These guys are interested in a lot of things, including women and hamburgers, and, ah, various other things. Consequently, we're not shy about featuring a little bit of sexuality in our ads.

We used Paris Hilton in an ad. She was in a sexy bathing suit, washing a car and eating a Spicy Barbecue Thickburger from Hardee's. It was a hot and spicy burger, and Paris looked hot and spicy in the ad. Her tagline at the time was, “That's hot.” So it came together strategically.

Of the big burgers you've been promoting, which have been most successful?

Something that we've pioneered in the fast-food industry that [talk-show host] Jay Leno jokingly referred to as “meat as a condiment” burgers on the Tonight Show. We started with the Pastrami Burger at Carl's Jr., which was literally a pastrami sandwich on a hamburger. And we followed that up with a Philly Cheesesteak Burger and a Prime Rib Burger. We slice the cheese steak, prime rib, etc., and put that on the burger.

Your CEO, Andy Puzder, has been quoted saying that our industry shouldn't be telling people what to eat, but rather figure out what people want and give it to them. Has that changed at CKE?

I don't think it has changed at all. We don't make things that we want to sell. We make things that people want to buy. And people want to buy hamburgers. If fast-food consumers were only interested in salad and fruit cups, then you'd see several thousand chains that sell salads and fruit cups.

What about your new “breakfast as big as our burgers” campaign?

We did research and found that a lot of people felt that fast-food breakfast sandwiches really weren't that filling, that they often have to get more than one. Equating the Carl's Jr. breakfast menu to the burger menu was a quick way to let consumers know that what we're offering at breakfast really will fill you up. The first offering was the Monster Breakfast Sandwich, and it's selling very well.

Where does CKE go from here?

We intend to stay the course. The philosophy of bringing casual-dining quality food to fast food has really permeated a big chunk of our menu. There are still a few areas we're looking at.