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Revision as of 00:10, 23 January 2006 by CDThieme (talk | contribs) (revert nonsense)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)| Company type | Public (NYSE: JBX) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Restaurants |
| Founded | 1951 San Diego, CA |
| Headquarters | San Diego, CA |
| Key people | Linda Lang, CEO & Chairman |
| Products | Fast Food |
| Revenue |  $2.322 billion USD (2004) |
| Number of employees | 45,000 |
| Website | www.jackinthebox.com |
Jack in the Box, NYSE: JBX, is an American fast food restaurant founded in 1951. In total, the chain has 2042 locations in 17 states, mostly in the western half of the country. Most of the outlets are in California (885), followed by Texas (543), Arizona (154), and Washington (128). The company also operates the Qdoba Mexican Grill chain and the Quick Stuff convenience store chain.
Some of its food items include the Jumbo Jack, Spicy Chicken Sandwich, Bacon Ultimate Cheeseburger, Bacon Bacon Cheeseburger, and Sourdough Jack. New items come in on a rotation, every three years -- including the Philly Cheesesteak. In locations in Hawaii, local delicacies are a regular part of the menu. They include the Paniolo Breakfast (Portuguese sausage, eggs and rice platter), teriyaki chicken and rice bowl (now discontinued), and saimin. In the Southeast United States, the company offers biscuits and sweet tea. Recently, Jack in the Box also introduced its own Ciabatta Burger and Ultimate Club Sandwich.
Many Jack in the Box locations are freestanding. Others may be attached to some gas station service centers or at malls and shopping centers.
In early 2004, Jack in the Box Inc. introduced its new "fast-casual" restaurant, JBX Grill.
Advertising campaigns
In the 1970s, Jack in the Box commercials involved a small 3 1/2 year old joyous boy named Rodney Allen Rippy. He usually sang "Make life a little easier..."
The restaurant gained in popularity after a highly successful marketing campaign that featured the fictitious Jack in the Box CEO "Jack" character, who has a ping pong ball-like head and is dressed in a business suit. Its commercials tend to be lightly humorous and often involves Jack making business decisions about the restaurant chain's food products. In addition, many of its commercials have advertised free car antenna balls with every meal, thus increasing brand awareness. Hence, these Jack in the Box antenna balls can be seen on many cars, especially on the US West Coast. They are also considered collector's items.
Originally Jack was a clown-like character, but he was blown up and supposedly "killed" in a 1980 commercial to give the chain a more mature appeal and look. Around this time, the chain blew up all the old "Jack in the Box" signs in its commercials. Later, the company also returned the clown. He returned ("thanks to the miracle of plastic surgery," according to Jack) in his more serious, modern form in 1995. At the end of his first commercial back, he "blew up" the Board of Directors as retribution.
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.
Another ad around 2000 involved a man washed up on a remote island with only a Jack in the Box antenna ball as company. The ad effectively mocked both the movie Cast Away and the TV show Survivor. Later it turned out that Jack in the Box's advertising agency had copied the concept from a young film director who had sent them the idea in hopes of profiting from it. The director's lawsuit against the ad agency was thrown out; his sample ad had used Jack in the Box's 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.
Food safety
In 1993, Jack in the Box suffered a major crisis involving E. coli bacteria. Four people died and hundreds of others became sick after eating undercooked hamburgers contaminated with 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. A food-safety initiative was put into place, including a new mandate that Jack in the Box hamburgers be cooked well-done instead of rare as was previously done.
Jack in the Box Inc., the nation’s first major drive-thru hamburger chain, operates and franchises more than 1,959 Jack in the Box (JIB) and more than 130 Qdoba Mexican Grill restaurants in 32 states. Headquartered in San Diego, the company has more than 45,000 employees.
Locations
- Arizona
- California
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Louisiana
- Missouri
- Nevada
- New Mexico
- North Carolina (Charlotte area only)
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Washington
External links
- Jack in the Box
- Carnivores football web page
- Jon Entine's How "Jack" Turned Crisis Into Opportunity article.
- About-Ecoli.com's Effects of the e.coli litigation.