Fatburger to Raise Profile With TV Ads

Low-profile Fatburger is taking steps to bolster its presence in the Southland with its first-ever television commercial that pokes fun at some of its fast-food competitors.

The commercial doesn’t name names but takes a thinly veiled shot at chains like McDonald’s and Burger King, famous for their children’s meals toy promotions.

In Fatburger’s 30-second spot, a perplexed man receives a bland-looking burger along with a transformer-like toy. “He looks at the burger then at the toy. He opens up the catsup and he puts it on the toy because the toy is better than the food,” explained Bruce Mayo, co-creative director of Lawrence, Mayo & Ponder, the Newport Beach advertising firm that created the commercial.

The commercial then cuts to a picture of a fresh Fatburger.

The 36-unit hamburger chain, which has five locations in Orange County, has had minimal advertising since its start in 1952, relying instead on satisfied customers to spread the word.

But with a more ambitious expansion effort in the works, the company has decided to crank up its advertising budget.

“They have doubled the number of stores in the last four years and are planning to open more next year,” said Linda Lawrence, president of the advertising agency. “They are finally at a point where it makes economic sense to do more broad-based advertising.”

Santa Monica-based Fatburger Corp., which generated revenue of $10 million in 1998, has also hired the Newport Beach-based public relations agency of Pittman & Associates to help increase the chain’s profile.

The privately owned chain plans to open six new restaurants within the next year. Its Orange County locations are in Aliso Viejo, Brea, Buena Park, Irvine, and Orange.