EclectEcon

Economics and the mid-life crisis have much in common: Both dwell on foregone opportunities

C'est la vie; c'est la guerre; c'est la pomme de terre . . . . . . . . . . . . . email: jpalmer at uwo dot ca


. . . . . . . . . . .Richard Posner should be awarded the next Nobel Prize in Economics . . . . . . . . . . . .

Saturday, May 28, 2005

What is the Paris Hilton Elasticity of Demand for Carl's Jr. burgers?

Would You Hire Paris Hilton To Sell Burgers?

Carl's Jr. did...

... using web-based videos clearly targeting a specific demographic group [click here for the basic video "Paris Hilton doing a really bad job of washing a Bentley and an ok job of washing herself" is how Daniel Drezner describes it ; click here for the extended video].

Read the entire article, "A very important post about..... Paris Hilton's food porn," by Daniel Drezner which also has a still photo from the ad campaign plus much more.

The ads seem to be generating considerable interest among people on the internet and among various self-appointed public watchdogs. But will this interest help sell a $6 spicy BBQ burger?
By how much would, say, an extra $10,000 spent on these ads increase Carl's Jr's net revenues?

My own take: the ad would have been much better if it had focused on Paris Hilton slowly, provocatively, eating the burger.

[h/t to John Chilton for the pointer to Drezner's posting]

Update: For more insightful and amusing comments, see what Dave Friedman has to say here.

I still doubt whether Paris Hilton knows anything about string theory.
 
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