Peller, Clara
Identification American television-commercial
actor
Born August 4, 1902; Chicago, Illinois
Died August 11, 1987; Chicago, Illinois
Peller was featured in a remarkably successful marketing
campaign for the Wendy’s fast-food franchise in the 1980’s.
Her trademark line, “Where’s the beef?,” became a catch-
phrase and one of the most frequently invoked popular cul-
ture slogans of the decade.
Dancer, Fitzgerald, Sample—a prestigious Madison
Avenue advertising agency—came up with a promo-
tional campaign for the Wendy’s fast-food hamburger
restaurants that made relatively unknown actress
Clara Peller the unlikely media sensation of the
year in 1984. Peller was tiny—only four feet, eleven
inches tall—and eighty-two years old when the first
commercial in the series debuted nationally on Jan-
uary 10, 1984. She was presented as grumpy, angry,
and outraged as she kept searching for a hamburger
patty big enough to satisfy her and for a fast-food
restaurant that delivered the kind of service she
expected. Throughout the series, Peller was shown
holding a plate with an enormous bun, on which sat
an extremely small piece of meat, as she demanded,
“Where’s the beef?” Americans fell in love with her.
The fast-paced, tongue-in-cheek tone of the com-
mercials increased their appeal, as did the opportu-
nities for double entendres and sexual allusions
to be made when people throughout the media
and across the country began appropriating Peller’s
query and repeating it themselves. Stand-up come-
dians, T-shirt manufacturers, and other merchandis-
ers, including one promoting a line of underwear,
cashed in on the sudden popularity of Peller, asking,
“Where’s the beef?”
Wendy’s also took advantage of Peller’s fifteen
minutes of fame by quickly cross-marketing a single,
released as a 45 rpm (revolutions per minute) rec-
ord on the Awesome label. The recording featured
Nashville country music deejay Coyote McCloud
performing his musical composition “Where’s the
Beef?” with vocals by Peller. Peller also made an ap-
pearance on the popular late-night comedy sketch
showSaturday Night Live.Her influence extended
even to politics: During the 1984 Democratic presi-
dential primary campaign, Walter Mondale asked
“Where’s the beef?” to dismiss Senator Gary Hart’s
vague campaign theme of “new ideas,” a strategy that
gained plenty of commentary from the media and
ultimately worked to Mondale’s advantage in secur-
ing the nomination.
Peller herself had no success moving beyond be-
ing typecast as the “Where’s the beef?” lady. In 1985,
she made a commercial for Prego spaghetti sauce in
which she seemed to answer her own question as to
the beef’s location. Looking at Prego’s meat sauce,
Peller exclaimed, “I found it!” As a result, Wendy’s
terminated her contract. She had two very minor
roles inMoving Violations(1985) andThe Stuff
(1985), both critically panned films, and in both
cases she merely alluded to the persona she had cre-
ated for Wendy’s. She also made a personal appear-
ance, along with a slew of other major and minor me-
dia celebrities, in Vince McMahon’sWrestlemania 2
in 1986.752 Peller, Clara The Eighties in America
Clara Peller stares at a tiny hamburger and wonders, “Where’s the
beef?” in 1984.(AP/Wide World Photos)