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Where's the beef?

July 09, 2023

"Where's the beef?" is a catchphrase in the United States and Canada, introduced as a slogan for the fast food chain Wendy's in 1984. Since then it has become an all-purpose phrase questioning the substance of an idea, event, or product.[1]

The picture sleeve of a "Where's the Beef?" single, recorded by Coyote McCloud and Clara Peller, based on her advertisement catchphrase

History

 
2020 Where's the Beef ad

The phrase first came to the public audience in a U.S. television commercial for the Wendy's chain of hamburger restaurants in 1984. The strategy behind the campaign was to distinguish competitors' (McDonald's and Burger King) big name hamburgers (Big Mac and Whopper respectively) from Wendy's "modest" Single by focusing on the large bun used by the competitors and the larger beef patty in Wendy's hamburger. In the ad, titled "Fluffy Bun", actress Clara Peller receives a burger with a massive bun but a tiny patty from a fictional competitor, which uses the slogan "Home of the Big Bun". The small patty prompts Peller angrily to exclaim, "Where's the beef?" Director Joe Sedelmaier actually wanted Peller to say, "Where is all the beef?" but because of emphysema, that was too hard for her.[2]

The commercial was originally supposed to star a young couple, but Sedelmaier did not find the concept funny and changed it to the elderly ladies.[2]

An earlier version, featuring a middle-aged bald man saying, "Thanks, but where's the beef?", failed to make much impact. After the Peller version, the catchphrase was repeated in television shows, films, magazines, and other media outlets.

First airing in 1984, the original commercial featured three elderly ladies at the "Home of the Big Bun" examining an exaggeratedly large hamburger bun. The other two ladies poke at it, exchanging bemused comments ("It certainly is a big bun. It's a very big bun. It's a big fluffy bun. It's a very big fluffy—"). As one of the ladies lifts the top half of the bun, a comically minuscule hamburger patty with cheese and a pickle is revealed (prompting her to finish the sentence "—bun." with a much more disappointed tone). Peller immediately responds with her outraged, irascible question.[3]

Sequels featured Peller yelling at a Fluffy Bun executive from his yacht over the phone and approaching fast food drive-up windows (including the "Home of the Big Bun" and a restaurant with a golden arch) that were slammed down before she could complete the line.

Later in 1984, Nashville songwriter and DJ Coyote McCloud wrote and performed a hit song entitled "Where's the Beef?" as a promotion for Wendy's restaurants' famous advertising campaign featuring Clara Peller.[4]

The advertising campaign ended in 1985 after Peller performed in a commercial for Prego pasta sauce, saying "I found it, I really found it",[5] a phrase alluding to the beef in the listener's mind.

There were many "Where's the beef?" promotional items, including bumper stickers, frisbees, clothing patches, a Milton Bradley game,[6] and more.

In 2011, Wendy's revived the phrase for its new ad campaign, finally answering its own question with "Here's the beef".[7]

During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, when stores were experiencing a shortage of beef, Wendy's revived the ad. [8]

To launch their new breakfast menu in Canada, Wendy’s released a new advertisement campaign called “Where’s the Bacon?” as a callback to the “Where’s the Beef?”. The new campaign is similar to its older counterpart, except it focuses on the amount of bacon in breakfast sandwiches rather than beef size. [9]

For the 2023 Daytona 500, Legacy Motor Club driver Noah Gragson, sponsored by Wendy's, uses the No. 42 Chevrolet Camaro carrying "The Beef" on the hood, and a video released by the team featured Gragson using the phrase in the promotional video.[10]

Credits

William Welter, the executive vice president of Wendy's International, led the marketing team at the time of the campaign.[11] The commercial was directed by Joe Sedelmaier as part of a campaign by the advertising agency Dancer Fitzgerald Sample. It was written by Cliff Freeman. The marketing and promotion campaign were created by Alan Hilburg and the Burson-Marsteller team under the direction of Denny Lynch, the vice president of corporate communications at Wendy's.

Gary Hart and Walter Mondale

The phrase became associated with the 1984 U.S. presidential election. During primaries in the spring of 1984, when the commercial was at its height of popularity, Democratic candidate and former Vice President Walter Mondale used the phrase to sum up his arguments that program policies championed by his rival, Senator Gary Hart, were insubstantial, beginning with a March 11, 1984, televised debate at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta prior to the New York and Pennsylvania primaries.[1]

Hart had moved his candidacy from dark horse to the lead over Mondale based on allegedly superficial similarities to John F. Kennedy, and his repeated use of the phrase "new ideas". When Hart once again used the slogan in the debate, Mondale leaned forward and said, "When I hear your new ideas, I'm reminded of that ad, 'Where's the beef?'" Subsequently, the two campaigns continually clashed using the two dueling slogans, Hart frequently showing reams of policy papers and retorting "Here's the beef." Mondale's strategy succeeded in casting doubt on Hart's new ideas, and changing the debate to specific details, earning him the Democratic presidential nomination.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Ralph Keyes, I love it when you talk retro: hoochie coochie, double whammy, drop a dime, and the forgotten origins of American speech (Macmillan, 2009) ISBN 978-0-312-34005-6 pp. 7, 161. Found at Google Books. Accessed November 8, 2010.
  2. ^ a b Crain, Rance (June 27, 2016). "Why the Execution of an Idea Is More Important Than the Idea Itself". Advertising Age. Vol. 87, no. 13. p. 28.
  3. ^ Cross, Mary (2002). A Century of American Icons: 100 Products and Slogans from the 20th-Century Consumer Culture. Greenwood Press. pp. 191–193. ISBN 978-0313314810. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  4. ^ Bob Batchelor and Scott Stoddart, The 1980s: American popular culture through history (Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007) ISBN 978-0-313-33000-1 p. 48. Found at Google Books. Accessed November 8, 2010.
  5. ^ . The New York Times. August 12, 1987. Archived from the original (Obituaries) on November 12, 2011.
  6. ^ Toys and Prices; Mark Bellomo; F+W Media, Inc.; 2015; p. 354
  7. ^ After 27 Years, an Answer to the Question, ‘Where’s the Beef?’ The New York Times, September 25, 2011
  8. ^ "Wendy's burgers missing from ads as the 'Where's the Beef?' chain finds fresh beef in short supply". adage.com. May 7, 2020. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  9. ^ "Wendy's burgers missing from ads as the 'Where's the Beef?' chain finds fresh beef in short supply". Twitter.com. May 9, 2022. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  10. ^ "Legacy Motor Club promotional video". Twitter. Twitter. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
  11. ^ . Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved July 4, 2013.

July 09, 2023
where, beef, catchphrase, united, states, canada, introduced, slogan, fast, food, chain, wendy, 1984, since, then, become, purpose, phrase, questioning, substance, idea, event, product, picture, sleeve, where, beef, single, recorded, coyote, mccloud, clara, pe. Where s the beef is a catchphrase in the United States and Canada introduced as a slogan for the fast food chain Wendy s in 1984 Since then it has become an all purpose phrase questioning the substance of an idea event or product 1 The picture sleeve of a Where s the Beef single recorded by Coyote McCloud and Clara Peller based on her advertisement catchphrase Contents 1 History 2 Credits 3 Gary Hart and Walter Mondale 4 See also 5 ReferencesHistory Edit 2020 Where s the Beef ad The phrase first came to the public audience in a U S television commercial for the Wendy s chain of hamburger restaurants in 1984 The strategy behind the campaign was to distinguish competitors McDonald s and Burger King big name hamburgers Big Mac and Whopper respectively from Wendy s modest Single by focusing on the large bun used by the competitors and the larger beef patty in Wendy s hamburger In the ad titled Fluffy Bun actress Clara Peller receives a burger with a massive bun but a tiny patty from a fictional competitor which uses the slogan Home of the Big Bun The small patty prompts Peller angrily to exclaim Where s the beef Director Joe Sedelmaier actually wanted Peller to say Where is all the beef but because of emphysema that was too hard for her 2 The commercial was originally supposed to star a young couple but Sedelmaier did not find the concept funny and changed it to the elderly ladies 2 An earlier version featuring a middle aged bald man saying Thanks but where s the beef failed to make much impact After the Peller version the catchphrase was repeated in television shows films magazines and other media outlets First airing in 1984 the original commercial featured three elderly ladies at the Home of the Big Bun examining an exaggeratedly large hamburger bun The other two ladies poke at it exchanging bemused comments It certainly is a big bun It s a very big bun It s a big fluffy bun It s a very big fluffy As one of the ladies lifts the top half of the bun a comically minuscule hamburger patty with cheese and a pickle is revealed prompting her to finish the sentence bun with a much more disappointed tone Peller immediately responds with her outraged irascible question 3 Sequels featured Peller yelling at a Fluffy Bun executive from his yacht over the phone and approaching fast food drive up windows including the Home of the Big Bun and a restaurant with a golden arch that were slammed down before she could complete the line Later in 1984 Nashville songwriter and DJ Coyote McCloud wrote and performed a hit song entitled Where s the Beef as a promotion for Wendy s restaurants famous advertising campaign featuring Clara Peller 4 The advertising campaign ended in 1985 after Peller performed in a commercial for Prego pasta sauce saying I found it I really found it 5 a phrase alluding to the beef in the listener s mind There were many Where s the beef promotional items including bumper stickers frisbees clothing patches a Milton Bradley game 6 and more In 2011 Wendy s revived the phrase for its new ad campaign finally answering its own question with Here s the beef 7 During the 2020 COVID 19 pandemic when stores were experiencing a shortage of beef Wendy s revived the ad 8 To launch their new breakfast menu in Canada Wendy s released a new advertisement campaign called Where s the Bacon as a callback to the Where s the Beef The new campaign is similar to its older counterpart except it focuses on the amount of bacon in breakfast sandwiches rather than beef size 9 For the 2023 Daytona 500 Legacy Motor Club driver Noah Gragson sponsored by Wendy s uses the No 42 Chevrolet Camaro carrying The Beef on the hood and a video released by the team featured Gragson using the phrase in the promotional video 10 Credits EditWilliam Welter the executive vice president of Wendy s International led the marketing team at the time of the campaign 11 The commercial was directed by Joe Sedelmaier as part of a campaign by the advertising agency Dancer Fitzgerald Sample It was written by Cliff Freeman The marketing and promotion campaign were created by Alan Hilburg and the Burson Marsteller team under the direction of Denny Lynch the vice president of corporate communications at Wendy s Gary Hart and Walter Mondale EditThe phrase became associated with the 1984 U S presidential election During primaries in the spring of 1984 when the commercial was at its height of popularity Democratic candidate and former Vice President Walter Mondale used the phrase to sum up his arguments that program policies championed by his rival Senator Gary Hart were insubstantial beginning with a March 11 1984 televised debate at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta prior to the New York and Pennsylvania primaries 1 Hart had moved his candidacy from dark horse to the lead over Mondale based on allegedly superficial similarities to John F Kennedy and his repeated use of the phrase new ideas When Hart once again used the slogan in the debate Mondale leaned forward and said When I hear your new ideas I m reminded of that ad Where s the beef Subsequently the two campaigns continually clashed using the two dueling slogans Hart frequently showing reams of policy papers and retorting Here s the beef Mondale s strategy succeeded in casting doubt on Hart s new ideas and changing the debate to specific details earning him the Democratic presidential nomination 1 See also Edit 1980s portalReferences Edit a b c Ralph Keyes I love it when you talk retro hoochie coochie double whammy drop a dime and the forgotten origins of American speech Macmillan 2009 ISBN 978 0 312 34005 6 pp 7 161 Found at Google Books Accessed November 8 2010 a b Crain Rance June 27 2016 Why the Execution of an Idea Is More Important Than the Idea Itself Advertising Age Vol 87 no 13 p 28 Cross Mary 2002 A Century of American Icons 100 Products and Slogans from the 20th Century Consumer Culture Greenwood Press pp 191 193 ISBN 978 0313314810 Retrieved September 4 2020 Bob Batchelor and Scott Stoddart The 1980s American popular culture through history Greenwood Publishing Group 2007 ISBN 978 0 313 33000 1 p 48 Found at Google Books Accessed November 8 2010 Clara Peller the Actress In Where s the Beef TV Ad The New York Times August 12 1987 Archived from the original Obituaries on November 12 2011 Toys and Prices Mark Bellomo F W Media Inc 2015 p 354 After 27 Years an Answer to the Question Where s the Beef The New York Times September 25 2011 Wendy s burgers missing from ads as the Where s the Beef chain finds fresh beef in short supply adage com May 7 2020 Retrieved May 10 2020 Wendy s burgers missing from ads as the Where s the Beef chain finds fresh beef in short supply Twitter com May 9 2022 Retrieved May 12 2022 Legacy Motor Club promotional video Twitter Twitter Retrieved February 17 2023 Findarticles com Archived from the original on September 24 2015 Retrieved July 4 2013 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Where 27s the beef 3F amp oldid 1144952558, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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