Carl’s Jr. announced that through January 8, interest in Kim Kardashian’s Grilled Chicken Salad commercial received 258 million media impressions (potential viewers/readers), more than three times the quantity achieved by any one of the chain’s previous celebrity commercial stars and more than all of them combined.

Media coverage ranged from People magazine and “The Jay Leno Show,” to CNBC’s “FastMoney” and USA Today. There were an additional 1.8 million views on YouTube for the 30-second commercial and a combined 2.1 million views for all of the other salad- and Kardashian -related videos.

Carl’s Jr. lined up a host of additional activities to make the most of Kardashian’s popularity in both the offline and online realms. On January 13, Kardashian will host a live streaming lunch date on the Carl’s Jr. Facebook page at noon PST. Fans who buy a salad in advance will receive a special code to unlock additional access to the virtual lunch date, allowing them to interact and ask questions with Kardashian in chat format.

“Kim Kardashian has been an absolute joy to work with and her genuine charm, charisma, beauty, and brains have endeared her to a huge base of fans,” says Brad Haley, executive vice president of marketing for Carl’s Jr. “Because of Kim’s immense popularity, her commercial is not only a hit on television, it’s a hit in the digital space as well. And, the result is that the new salads, particularly Kim’s favorite, the Cranberry Apple Walnut Grilled Chicken Salad, have been selling at record pace. As the commercial says, ‘Who says salads can’t be hot?’”

“This has been a terrific partnership,” says Kim Kardashian. “The commercial was fun to shoot, the salad is delicious, and I’m thrilled so many fans are enjoying both. I hope they all join me for the Ultimate Salad Lunch Date on Wednesday, too.”