Jack in the Box

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Jack in the Box, Inc.

Type	Public (NASDAQ: JACK)
Founded	1951
Headquarters	San Diego, CA
Key people	Linda Lang, CEO & Chairwoman Robert Oscar Peterson, founder Jack, Fictional CEO and founder
Industry	Restaurants
Products	Fast food (including hamburgers, French fries, and milkshakes)
Employees	42,500 (2008)[1]
Website	www.jackinthebox.com

Jack in the Box (NASDAQ: JACK) is an American fast-food restaurant founded in 1951 in San Diego, California, where it is still headquartered today. In total, the chain has 2,100 locations; primarily serving the west coast of the U.S. Most of the outlets are in California (900), followed by Texas (560), Arizona (165), and Washington (132).^[2] The company also operates the Qdoba Mexican Grill chain.^[3][4]

Contents 1 Overview 2 History 2.1 E. coli disaster 3 Advertising campaigns 4 Food safety 5 New markets 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Overview

Jack in the Box competes primarily with other major national fast-food chains such as McDonald's, Yum, and Wendy's. Food items include the Jumbo Jack, Potato Wedges, and Ultimate Cheeseburger. The Ultimate Cheeseburger won the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 Golden Icon Awards for "Best Burger"; the Golden Icon Awards are presented annually by Travolta Family Entertainment.

Jack in the Box also offers an American version of ethnic cuisine - such as egg rolls and tacos, along with breakfast burritos. New items come in on a rotation every three to four months, including the Philly Cheesesteak and the deli style pannidos (deli trio, ham & turkey, zesty turkey) which were replaced by Jack's ciabatta burger and included the original ciabatta burger and the bacon n' cheese ciabatta. Jack in the Box also carries seasonal items such as pumpkin pie shakes, Oreo mint shakes, and eggnog shakes during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. In locations in Hawaii, local delicacies are a regular part of the menu. They include the Paniolo Breakfast (Portuguese sausage, eggs, and rice platter) and teriyaki chicken and rice bowl. In the Southern United States, the company offers biscuits and sweet tea. In the spring of 2007 Jack in the Box also introduced its sirloin burger and followed this up with recently the sirloin steak melt. Its more recent foray into the deli market was the less-popular Ultimate Club Sandwich which was initially removed in Arizona due to poor sales and has since been phased out at all locations.

Many Jack in the Box locations are freestanding, while others may be attached to some gas station service centers or at malls and shopping centers. Most Jack in the Box locations serve the entire menu, including breakfast, during all operational hours, and many Jack in the Box locations are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

[edit] History

Robert O. Peterson already owned several successful restaurants when he opened Topsy's Drive-In at 63rd and El Cajon Blvd in San Diego in 1941. Like most "burger joints" of its time, Topsy's offered carhop service, but it also had a drive-through window so that customers never had to leave their cars. Some sources cite this as the first restaurant with a drive-through window. Several more Topsy's were opened and eventually renamed Oscar's (after Peterson's middle name), and by the late 1940s the Oscar's locations had developed a circus-like décor featuring drawings of a starry-eyed clown.

In 1951, Peterson opened a similar restaurant on the Pacific Coast Highway in Long Beach, with a giant clown's head atop the building. Called Jack in the Box, this hamburger stand had no carhops at all, but instead offered the innovation of a two-way intercom system, allowing much faster service through the drive-through window -- while one customer's car was at the window, a second and even a third customer's order could be taken and prepared. Quick service made the new location very popular, and soon all of Oscar's locations were redesigned with intercoms and rechristened as Jack in the Box restaurants.

Peterson's holding company was called Foodmaker Company, which by 1966 was known as Foodmaker, Inc. All Jack in the Box locations at this time were company-owned; location sites, food preparation, quality control and the hiring and training of on-site managers and staff in each location was subject to rigorous screening processes and strict performance standards. By 1966 there were over 180 locations, mainly in California and the Southwest.

In 1968, Peterson sold Foodmaker to Ralston Purina Company. In the 1970's Foodmaker led the Jack in the Box chain toward its most prolific growth (television commercials in the early 1970's featured child actor Rodney Allen Rippy), and locations began to be franchised. As the decade progressed, the chain began to increasingly resemble its larger competitors, particularly the industry giant, McDonald's. Jack in the Box began to struggle during the latter part of the decade, and its expansion into East Coast markets was at first cut back from original estimates, then halted altogether. By the end of the decade, Jack in the Box restaurants were being put up for sale in increasing numbers, forcing Foodmaker to respond quickly to turn the chain around.

As a result, around 1980, Foodmaker dramatically altered Jack in the Box's marketing strategy by literally blowing up the chain's symbol, the jack in the box, which dated back to the early San Diego days, in television commercials with the tagline, "The food is better at the Box". ^[5] Jack in the Box announced that it would no longer compete for McDonald's target customer base of families with young children. Instead, Foodmaker would attempt to attract older, more affluent "yuppie" customers with a higher-quality, more upscale menu. Jack in the Box restaurants were remodeled and redecorated with decorator pastel colors and hanging plants. Television advertising from about 1985 onward featured minimalistic music performed by a small chamber-like ensemble (specifically a distinctive seven-note plucked musical signature). The menu, which was previously focused on hamburgers led by the flagship Jumbo Jack, became much more diverse, including such items as salads, tacos and chicken sandwiches (at least two new menu items were introduced per year), at a time when few fast-food operations offered more than standard hamburgers. Annual sales increased through the 1980's. Ralston Purina tried further to mature the restaurant's image, renaming it "Monterey Jack's" in 1985, a disastrous move that lasted a short time. The Jack in the Box name was restored in 1986.

Ralston Purina was satisfied with Foodmaker, but decided in 1985 that it was a non-core asset and elected to sell it to management after 18 years. By 1987 sales reached $655 million, the chain boasted 897 restaurants, and Foodmaker became a publicly traded company.

[edit] E. coli disaster

However, Jack in the Box's success came to a halt in the 1990's because of two main factors: 1) the national recession of 1990-91 (the company suffered an 81 percent decline in net earnings in 1991) and more importantly, the E. coli epidemic of 1993: Four children died and hundreds of others became sick in the Seattle area as well as California, Idaho and Nevada, after eating undercooked and contaminated meat from Jack in the Box. It was the largest and deadliest E. coli outbreak in American history up to that time.

The chain lost millions of dollars in sales and revenue as a result of the disaster, and millions were paid out as settlements in wrongful death lawsuits. Moody's Investors Service downgraded Foodmaker's debt to junk status as it had no confidence that sales would return to normal levels. Bankruptcy was imminent. With the very survival of the company at stake, Foodmaker needed another turnaround strategy to distance themselves from the E. coli scare.

They got it from a new ad campaign developed by an advertising agency from Santa Monica, California, called Secret Weapon Marketing, led by Dick Sittig, as detailed below.^{[6] [7]}

In 1999, the official corporate name of Jack in the Box was renamed simply "Jack in the Box, Inc." to fit its core brand, and the Foodmaker, Inc. name was retired.

In early 2004, Jack in the Box Inc. introduced its new "fast casual" restaurant, JBX Grill. By 2006, however, Jack in the Box canceled the JBX Grill idea, reverting all JBX Grills back into original Jack in the Box stores. This was due to poor sales, and it allowed them to focus on core expansion.

In May 2006, the CEO Jack character launched his own MySpace profile, complete with a fictional biography.

[edit] Advertising campaigns

The restaurant rebounded in popularity in the mid-1990's, after a highly successful marketing campaign that featured the fictitious Jack in the Box CEO "Jack" character (voiced by the campaign's creator, Santa Monica advertising executive Dick Sittig), who has a ping pong ball-like head and is dressed in a business suit.

Jack was reintroduced specifically to signal the new direction the company was taking to refocus and regroup after the E. coli disaster. In the original 1994 spot, Jack ("through the miracle of plastic surgery", he says as he confidently strides into the office building) reclaims his rightful role as CEO, and, apparently as revenge for being blown up in 1980, approaches the closed doors of the Jack in the Box boardroom (a fictionalized version, shown while the aforementioned minimalist theme music from the 1980's Jack in the Box commercials plays), activates a detonation device, and the boardroom explodes in a dramatic, hilarious (and controversial) shower of smoke, wood and paper. The spot ends with a closeup shot of a small white paper bag, presumably filled with freshly (and safely) prepared Jack in the Box food, dropping forcefully onto a table; the bag is printed with the words "Jack's Back" in bold red print.

The violent boardroom detonation angered many at the time, as it occurred at nearly the same time as several real-life domestic bombings hitting the news in those days (see Oklahoma City bombing). But Sittig and Jack in the Box management stuck by the new campaign. Their intent was to prove to a wary public that the company was no longer the same restaurant chain plagued by the food safety scandal, and because the commercials had a definite humorous element to them that undermined the alleged "retribution" that Jack was supposedly demonstrating in these commercials and overall, the public responded positively.

The commercials in the now almost 15-year-strong "Jack's Back" campaign (which has won several advertising industry awards) tend to be lightly humorous and often involve Jack making business decisions about the restaurant chain's food products, or out in the field getting ideas for new menu items. In addition, many commercials have advertised free car antenna balls with every meal, thus increasing brand awareness. Often different types of antenna balls will be available if a holiday or major event is approaching. The antenna balls are so popular that they can be found on many cars in areas not served by Jack in the Box restaurants. Brand loyalty, especially since the "Jack" ad campaign began, is such that people who grew up in, and/or previously lived in areas with Jack in the Box locations often frequent the restaurants (when they are able to find them) located in a new city to which they have moved.

During the height of the now-defunct XFL, one of the continuing ad series involved a fictitious professional American football team owned by Jack. The team, called the Carnivores, played against teams such as the Tofu Eaters and the Vegans.

Another ad circa 2000 involved a man washed up on a remote island with only a Jack in the Box antenna ball as company. Later that year an aspiring director claiming the agency had appropriated his idea for the ad had his lawsuit against the ad agency thrown out; in fact, his sample ad had appropriated the campaign's already existing character, logo, and ending images (the dropping of paper bags) without permission.

The Meaty Cheesy Boys, a mock boy band, were created during an ad campaign featuring an out-of-control advertising executive previously fired by Jack. The same ad exec featured in a spot where a medical doctor made exaggerated claims of the benefits of fast food that it would cure baldness, help trim extra pounds, and remove wrinkles. Jack asks the ad exec incredulously, "Where did you find this guy?" The ad exec responds proudly, "Tobacco company."

In April 2006, Jack in the Box launched an ad campaign called Bread is Back,^[8] taking a stab at the low carbohydrate diets of recent years. Also, the commercials aired in states far away from a Jack in the Box location.

In 2006, Jack in the Box took use of this perception creating a commercial featuring a typical stoner who is indecisive about ordering. When faced with a decision, the Jack in the Box figurine in his car tells him to "stick to the classics" and order 30 tacos implying that he has the "munchies".^[9] This ad later stirred up controversy among a San Diego teen group who claimed that the ad was irresponsible showing a teenager who was under the influence of drugs. To protest, they presented the company with 2000 postcards protesting the ad, despite the fact that it had not aired since the beginning of the previous month. To this day, employees wear shirts with "Open late, and we won't ask Why you're hungry" on the back.

Another ad touting the chain's milk shakes aired circa 2003 and was shot in the stilted style of a 1970s-era anti-drug spot, urging kids to "say no to fake shakes" and featured "Larry The Crime Donkey," a parody of McGruff the Crime Dog.

In 2007, Jack in the Box began a commercial campaign for their new 100% sirloin beef hamburgers, implying that they were of higher quality than the Angus beef used by Carl's Jr., Hardee's, Wendy's, and Burger King. That May, CKE Restaurants, Inc., the parent company of Carl's Jr. and Hardee's, filed a lawsuit against Jack in the Box, Inc. CKE claimed, among other things, that the commercials tried to give the impression that Carl's Jr./Hardee's Angus beef hamburgers contained cow anuses by having an actor swirl his finger in the air in a circle while saying "Angus" in one commercial and having other people in the second commercial laugh when the word "Angus" was mentioned. They also attacked Jack in the Box's claim that sirloin, a cut found on all cattle, was of higher quality than Angus beef, which is a breed of cattle.^[10]

During Super Bowl XLIII on February 1, 2009, a commercial showed Jack in a Casket, which apparently injured him quite seriously. The closing shot encouraged viewers to visit www.hangintherejack.com. At the same website, one can view different videos that speak of Jack's condition. These videos include a cell phone video of Jack's accident. Also, previously run commercials of Jack include a disclaimer that reads "Recorded before Jack's accident." After a month in a coma, Jack woke up when his second-in-command, Phil, thinking Jack wasn't aware yet, revealed he was changing the name of the chain to "Phil in the Box". This woke Jack up, and he began to strangle Phil, all the while demanding his pants.

Shortly after the "awakening", it was revealed that the corporate website would be relaunched, and the company would get a new logo, on March 16, 2009.

[edit] Food safety

As mentioned above, in 1993, Jack in the Box suffered a major corporate crisis involving E. coli O157:H7 bacteria. Four children died of hemolytic uremic syndrome and 600 others were reported sick after eating undercooked patties contaminated with fecal material containing the bacteria at locations in the Seattle area and other parts of the Pacific Northwest. The chain was faced with several lawsuits, each of which was quickly settled (but left the chain nearly bankrupt and losing customers). At the time, Washington state law required that hamburgers be cooked to an internal temperature of at least 155 °F (68 °C), the temperature necessary to kill E. coli bacteria, although the FDA requirement at that time was only 140 °F (60 °C), which was the temperature Jack in the Box cooked. After the incident, Jack in the Box mandated that in all nationwide locations, their hamburgers be cooked to at least 155 °F (68 °C).^[11][12][13] Additionally, all meat products produced in the United States are required to comply with HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) regulations. Every company that produces meat products is required to have a HACCP plan that is followed continuously.

[edit] New markets

In 2005–2006, Jack in the Box Inc. announced plans for nationwide expansion by 2010. As part of the initiative, they are entering new markets as well as returning to markets where they had a presence in past years, but subsequently withdrew from.

In support of this objective, the chain has begun airing ads in states several hundred miles from the nearest location. This is similar to a strategy that has been used for years by Sonic Drive-In in its national expansion efforts.

Currently the strategy is targeted at Colorado and Texas. On November 12, 2007, the first new Colorado store opened in Golden, marking an end to Jack in the Box's 11-year-long hiatus from Colorado.^[14] Previous Denver Metro restaurant locations were the intersections of Leetsdale and Quebec, Colorado Blvd. and 6th Ave, and Broadway Blvd. and Evans Blvd.

In Albuquerque, New Mexico, several locations were confirmed to open in June 2009.^[15] Jack in the Box restaurants last made an appearance in the Albuquerque market approximately two decades ago, they closed long after before 2002.^[16]

New Texas stores in Midland, Odessa, Abilene, Wichita Falls and San Angelo.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jack in the Box

• Official website

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