Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s announced a flavor face-off of epic proportions, Southwestern style with the Tex Mex Bacon Thickburger available now at participating Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s restaurants nationwide.

Served on the chains’ signature Fresh Baked Buns, the Tex Mex Bacon Thickburger features a charbroiled, third- or half-pound 100 percent Black Angus beef patty, piled high with fire-roasted poblano peppers and onions, crisp lettuce, tomato, and thick-cut Applewood-smoked bacon, topped with melting Pepper Jack cheese and spicy Santa Fe sauce.

“The big, bold flavors and tastes from the Southwest have become popular all over the country and our ‘young, hungry guy’ customers have come to expect us to introduce innovative, new burgers on the menus at Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s, so the Tex Mex Bacon Thickburger will make a lot of people very happy,” says Brad Haley, chief marketing officer for Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s restaurants. “The big, third- and half-pound charbroiled, 100 percent Black Angus beef patties and thick-cut Applewood-smoked bacon deliver on ‘Tex’ and the fire-roasted peppers and onions, Pepper Jack cheese and spicy sauce deliver on ‘Mex,’ so it really is the best of both worlds.”

To support this new menu item, Los Angeles–, New York–, and Amsterdam-based agency 72andSunny has created a new ad campaign, titled “Borderball,” featuring Texan Elle Evans of Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” music video fame, and Latina cover model Alejandra Guilmant from Mexico City. Packed with so much southwestern taste, it’s almost impossible to decide whether the burger is more Texan or more Mexican. Viewers will see each star’s sand volleyball team, one representing Texas and one Mexico, compete on the border to settle the score. Flanked by a crowd of fans from both countries, each team wants to prove it’s more Tex or more Mex. The spot will premiere nationally on September 28.

“When our advertising agency, 72andSunny, was developing campaign ideas for the Tex Mex Bacon Thickburger, their research found that there really are volleyball games played across the U.S.-Mexico borderline and that became the inspiration for the ad,” Haley adds. “So, we dramatized those real-world events in a way that only Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s could. So, whichever side you end up rooting for, I think you’ll be a winner.”