, (), 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. Many Jack in the Box locations are open 24 hours a day.
In early 2004, Jack in the Box Inc. introduced its new "fast-casual" restaurant,
JBX Grill .
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.
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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 and renamed the chain "Monterey Jack's. This was a fiasco on the order of "
New Coke " and ended after just a few years. 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. In 1999, Foodmaker Inc., the corporate name of Jack in the Box, was renamed to fit its core brand.
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.
In April 2006, Jack in the Box launched an ad campaign called
Bread is Back , taking a stab at the
Low-carb Diets of recent years. With the ads airing nationally, it appears that the company is taking a page out of
Sonic Drive-In 's book by advertising hundreds of miles from its nearest location, and is also hinting that like Sonic, Jack in the Box wants to become a national chain.
Jack in the Box Inc. 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.
- Watch out Mac. Jack's Back!im going to get ya
- We won't make it 'til you order it!
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.
