Carl’s Jr. Facing the Reality of Messy Commercial Ties . . .

Two Orange County companies are betting that it’s in to be in your face.

But they might take a cue from a third local business that recently learned it doesn’t always make cents to needlessly irritate customers.

Carl’s Jr., the burger chain, and Clothestime Inc., the bankrupt junior women’s apparel chain, each are utilizing advertising that incorporates conflict to help pitch their products.

For decades, Carl’s Jr. has run fairly conservative commercials featuring founder Carl Karcher and Happy Star, the company’s cartoon mascot. But in recent months, the Anaheim-based company has been televising commercials that feature colorful globs of condiments dripping from its oversize burgers.

Sales have soared, the company said, in the wake of commercials boasting that “if it doesn’t get all over the place, it doesn’t belong in your face.”

But the advertisements also prompted a minor backlash from some consumers who think messy just isn’t the right way to sell food. So Carl’s Jr. executives responded with a playful poke. Radio advertising now running during Mighty Ducks hockey games suggests that “If you don’t like commercials about big, drippy burgers, watch PBS.”

Carl’s Jr. unwittingly found itself on the cutting edge of controversy when word leaked out that an upcoming television commercial will feature Dennis Rodman, who recently was fined and suspended after getting in a referee’s face--head-butting him, in fact--during a National Basketball Assn. game.

Carl’s Jr. officials winced when Rodman was benched, but say they’ll air the advertisement as planned when the NBA finals begin in early June.

“When you choose a personality who’s a free spirit like Rodman, you know that there’s a calculated risk,” said Carl’s Jr. spokeswoman Suzanne Brown. “We know what we were getting when we signed him.”

“And besides, he’s not our spokesman and his name and picture won’t be going up on our signs.”

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Greg Johnson covers retail businesses and restaurants for The Times. He can be reached at (714) 966-5950 and at greg.johnson@latimes.com