Jack in the Box, , is an American fast food restaurant founded in 1951. In total, the chain has 2003 locations in 17 states, with the most in California, followed by Texas, Arizona, and Washington. 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. It has on several occasions sold the Philly Cheesesteak on and off for a limited time. 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, and saimin. In the Southeast United States, the company offers biscuits and sweet tea.

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 Campaign

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 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 in the past 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. 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 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 an 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 image (dropping paper bags) without permission.

Food Safety

In the early 1990s Jack in the Box suffered a major crisis involving e. coli. Four people were killed and hundreds of others became sick after eating hamburgers contaminated with the bacteria at locations in the Seattle area. The chain was faced with several lawsuits, each of which were 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.

Locations

• Arizona
• California
• Hawaii
• Idaho
• Illinois
• Louisiana
• Missouri
• Nevada
• New Mexico
• North Carolina
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• South Carolina
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah
• Washington

External links

• Jack in the Box
• Carnivores football web page