In 2017, Carl’s Jr. ditched the two marketing assets it had long relied on—bikinis and burgers—claiming the “distractions” were overshadowing its all-natural, grass-fed patties.
However, in 2025, the brand reverted to its risqué marketing tactics, with a Super Bowl-adjacent social campaign fronted by influencer Alix Earle. The commercial, which showed Earle tucking into a “hangover burger” in a star-shaped bra and denim skirt, increased the brand’s Instagram following by 91%, according to social analytics firm Metricool. It also clocked 2.5 million views on TikTok within two days.
Now, the fast-food chain is continuing to take a page out of its old, sexually suggestive marketing playbook, reviving “I Love Paris,” its original Paris Hilton–fronted car wash campaign that made headlines and sparked calls for censorship in 2005.
“Starwash” riffs on the original ad from 12 years ago—which showed Paris wearing a bikini while washing a Bentley and eating a Carl’s Jr. burger while delivering her signature line, “That’s hot” —but with a modern twist.
The new spot, promoting a buy-one-get-one-free offer, opens with two men outside a Carl’s Jr. eating burgers. Soon, a ketchup mishap leaves their car in need of help. The fix appears across the street: “Paris’ Famous Starwash,” an AI-powered car wash that whisks them into an early-2000s fever dream.
Inside, AI clone-bots modeled after Hilton welcome them in. Their beat-up ride emerges reborn as a Bentley, a knowing nod to the original campaign.
Hilton was on site to film parts of the ad. Afterwards, Carl’s Jr. partnered with creative studio Native Foreign to create the Y2K-meets-AI campaign.
“AI let us do something magical: we went back in time to one of advertising’s most iconic moments, then pulled the real Paris Hilton through it into today,” Kara Gasbarro, vp of creative and brand strategy at Carls Jr owner CKE Restaurants, said in a statement.
“It’s surreal and fun and expands creative possibilities,” she added. “But here’s what matters: when you peel back the fun AI, you’re left with real Paris, and a real burger that tastes as incredible today as it did in 2004.”
The brand joins a throng of others, including Dunkin’, Gap, and T-Mobile, leaning on nostalgia marketing to drive sales.
