Carl’s Jr. to Jack in the Box: Stop copying us
April 8th, 2008, 4:05 pm · 21 Comments · posted by Nancy Luna
Updated: 9 a.m. 4/9 with corrected CKE attribution
The food fight between Carl’s Jr. and Jack in the Box continues.
CKE Restaurants, the parent company of Carl’s Jr., sued Jack in the Box last year after the San Diego burger chain made fun of Carl’s Jr. Angus burgers. 
In the latest food spat, Carl’s Jr. is now crying foul with Jack in the Box’s new BBQ Bacon Sirloin Burger. (shown, below)
It’s a “copycat” of the Western Bacon Cheeseburger (shown, right), the press corps at Carl’s Jr. told me. Here’s what Brad Haley, CKE’s executive vice president of marketing had to say:
“First they copied Carl’s Jr. groundbreaking Six Dollar Burgers….with their Sirloin Burgers, which are fried on a flat grill. Now they are blatantly ripping-off Carl’s Jr. Western Bacon Cheeseburger, which has been on our menu for more than 25 years. Other chains keep trying to imitate it, but it’s impossible to duplicate a classic.”
Here’s the mano-a-mano comparison:
Jack’s Sirloin Burger, which debuted this week, features sirloin patty served on a bakery-style bun with bacon, American cheese, crispy onion rings and a tangy BBQ sauce.
The Western Bacon Cheeseburger is made up of bacon, American cheese, crispy onion and tangy barbecue sauce served on a sesame seed bun, according to the company’s online menu.
Sounds similar to me, especially the exact use of “tangy barbecue sauce and crispy onions.”
I punted the copycat accusation over to Jack in the Box. Here’s what the company said:
“Our new burger is distinctly different from products offered at other chains. For example, our burger is made with an all-sirloin beef patty — we’re the only major fast-food chain serving up a 100% sirloin patty,” said company spokesman Brian Luscomb.
This must explain why Carl’s Jr. suddenly re-introduced over the last few days its Western Bacon ads, where a mechanical bull-riding hot chick is munching on a Western burger.
This My Burger is Better Than Your Burger battle needs to end.
Tell me:
April 8th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
I thought the JBOX commercials with the cow diagrams were hilarious. But their sirloin burgers, to me, are dry and salty.
My vote goes to Carl’s.
April 8th, 2008 at 6:55 pm
My vote goes to Carl’s, Jr. Their $6 burgers are the best! Jack’s burgers are too dry and just don’t taste as good. Their other food isn’t that great either, for that matter.
April 8th, 2008 at 7:07 pm
Carl’s Jr burgers are much better. The meat itself and then the cheese and the sauce are all better. I might like the Jack in the Box buns though. The cheese for Jack in the Box is insipid. The one thing that can stand up to Carl’s Jr is their Chicken Fajita Pita with the cumin I think in the pack of salsa.
April 8th, 2008 at 7:39 pm
Carls all the way!!! How can you copy a classic burger like the Western Bacon Cheeseburger? It is truly an original. Betcha that Jack Western is nasty. Jack in the Box is only good if I am slumming and need some grease after the bar. Jack commercials are hilarious but I will take the sexy girls on the Carl’s commercials any day. “I like flat buns!!!!”
April 8th, 2008 at 7:43 pm
Carl’s Jr. should take it as a compliment that they are being copied
They have nothing to worry about because they have TASTE!
April 8th, 2008 at 9:56 pm
My late father was making this burger combination 30 years before Carl’s Jr. - maybe I should sue them on his behalf? Well, I’m off to In &Out for dinner
April 8th, 2008 at 10:20 pm
Carl’s Jr. sucks. When I use to eat there 2 years ago, I only ate the western bacon cheeseburger. My burger never had sauce oozing out of my burger like the commercials and pictures - such false advertisement. Also Carl’s bacon is so paper thin I wouldn’t even call it bacon. Jack in the box anyday over Carl’s Jr., plus breakfeast served all day!
April 9th, 2008 at 9:45 am
Personally I don’t like sauce oozing out of the burger. If it’s going to fall out why put so much there? Anyways, when I saw the Jack in the Box burger I thought it was an update of their old Outlaw Burger, not a copy of Carl’s Jr.’s western bacon cheeseburger.
April 9th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
Carl’s dominates Jack in the Crack. Case closed.
April 9th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
Carl’s Jr.’s Western Bacon Cheeseburger is classic! Is there really any contest?
April 9th, 2008 at 5:16 pm
Carl’s Jr. Western is one of my favorite burgers, I’ve tried the old Outlaw Burger at Jack’s, is it still on the menu? NO, (apparently no one else liked it either) Now with “sirloin”? lipstick on a pig is still a pig. Sorry Jack, this one is all Carl’s!
April 9th, 2008 at 7:33 pm
Get real Jack–you can’t duplicate a classic! Carl’s Jr. has had the Western Bacon Cheeseburger on its menu for many years now. In fact, when I was in highshool (long ago) my friends and I would hurry to the local Carl’s Jr. afterschool to get a Western Bacon Cheeseburger because it was (and still is) so craveable.
My obvious vote is for Carl’s Jr!!
Well, enough said–I’m hungry now. I’m headed to Carl’s Jr. for the ORIGINAL Western Bacon Cheeseburger Combo Meal–with Crisscut Fries and a Hand-Scooped Ice Cream Shake!!!!
April 9th, 2008 at 7:43 pm
Get real Jack–you can’t duplicate a classic! Carl’s Jr. has had the Western Bacon Cheeseburger on its menu for many years now. In fact, when I was in highshool (long ago) my friends and I would hurry to the local Carl’s Jr. afterschool to get a Western Bacon Cheeseburger because it was (and still is) so craveable.
My obvious vote is for Carl’s Jr!!
Well, enough said–I’m hungry now. I’m headed to Carl’s Jr. for the ORIGINAL Western Bacon Cheeseburger Combo Meal–with Crisscut Fries and a Hand-Scooped Ice Cream Shake!!!!
April 9th, 2008 at 9:54 pm
Jack’s commercials are funny as hell, but you can’t mess with the Carl’s Bacon Western. That’s my favoritie burger there by far. My vote goes to Carl’s on this one.
April 10th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
Carl’s Jr. is by Far the Best in terms of New Burger Concepts and TASTE! Don’t be fooled by the repulsive Jacuzzi commercials and strange doll head on a man…Jack n’ the Box needs to starts thinking OUTSIDE of their Box instead of stealing other Resturant’s FOOD Concepts.
I LOVE the new Chili CheeseBurgers and Fries too!!!
April 10th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
Anything that brings back the ‘Slow Ride’ ad is good.
April 12th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
The slow ride commercial is awesome…almost as great as the Western Bacon Cheeseburger. Jack’s burgers can’t hold a candle to Carl’s Jr.
April 12th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
Carl’s Jr. (and Hardees) has the menu and the taste and Jack’s has a cheap price.
April 25th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
Carl’s has some pretty good burgers, if they make the right, but Jack in the Box is better. Carl’s is just botter because Jack made fun of their anus, ahem, angus burger. In my opinion, Carl’s getting so hund up over it just makes Jack look that much more cool.
And now with Carl’s Jr. putting out a release crying about Jack in the Box’s burger, they just look like cry abbies whining to mama. How come they didn’t mention anything about the sourdough burgers they were selling that eventually got taken off the menu? How about their spicy chicken sandwich they sell today? Jack in the Box was the first for those!
They should know that it comes with the territory when you are in a competitive industry - stop the whining already - it just makes you look bad!
April 25th, 2008 at 3:14 pm
Sorry for the misspellings! Oh yeah, and Carl’s is currently selling a sourdough breakfast sandwich, another total rip off from Jack in the Box! Where is the press release Jack!
Let’s face it, Jack is too cool to give Carl’s that much credit/media attention.
June 23rd, 2008 at 9:24 pm
Was disappointed in Jack’s version. First off, it’s WAY smaller than Carl’s offering. The BBQ sauce was scant (could hardly taste it), and the bun was plain white fluff.
Jack’s is good when you have the munchies, Carl’s for when you’re ready to STUFF!