Where's the beef?

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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

"Where's the beef?" is a catch phrase limited to certain parts of the United States and Canada. Since it was first used, it has become an all-purpose phrase questioning the substance of an idea, event or product.

It came to public attention in a 1980s US television commercial created by Joe Sedelmaier as part of Dancer, Fitzgerald, Sample's fast food advertising campaign for the Wendy's chain of hamburger restaurants. In the ad, titled "Fluffy Bun", elderly actress Clara Peller receives a competitor's burger with a massive bun (the competitor's slogan was "Home of the Big Bun"). The small patty prompts the gruff Peller to angrily exclaim "Where's the beef?" The humorous ad and Peller's memorable character soon gave the catch-phrase a life of its own, and it was repeated in countless TV shows, films, magazines, and other media outlets.

First airing on January 10, 1984, "Fluffy Bun" featured three elderly ladies examining an exaggeratedly huge hamburger bun topped with a minuscule hamburger patty: the other two ladies poked it, exchanging bemused comments: "It certainly is a big bun." "It's a big fluffy bun", before being interrupted by Peller's outraged, irascible demand. Sequels featured Peller yelling at a Fluffy Bun executive on his yacht over the phone, and coming up to drive up windows at multiple fast food restaurants that would be slammed down before she could complete the line.

[edit] Gary Hart and Walter Mondale

The phrase is now often 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 ridiculed the candidacy of his rival, Senator Gary Hart by using the phrase during a televised debate before the New York and Pennsylvania primaries.

Hart had moved his candidacy from dark horse to the lead over Mondale based on 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?'" The line got a great response from the audience. Thenceforth, the two campaigns continually clashed using the two dueling slogans. Mondale ultimately prevailed to win the Democratic Party nomination, only to lose the general election in 1984 in a landslide to incumbent Ronald Reagan.

This use of the phrase in the 1984 primaries is in turn referred to in many other places, like The Simpsons.