Wendy’s International, LLC, is an American international fast food restaurant chain founded by Dave Thomas on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio. Its headquarters moved to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. As of December 31, 2018, Wendy’s was the world’s third-largest hamburger fast-food chain, following McDonald’s and Burger King. On September 29, 2008, the company merged with Triarc, the publicly traded parent company of Arby’s.
As of November 2, 2023, there were 7,166 Wendy’s outlets, of which 415 are company-owned and 6,751 franchised, 83% of which are in the United States. The company specifies stores’ standards; owners control opening hours, decor, and staff uniforms and pay.
The chain serves square hamburger patties on circular buns, sea salt fries, and the Frosty, soft ice cream mixed with starches. The food menu consists primarily of hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, and French fries. The company discontinued its Big Classic signature sandwich.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendy%27s
“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.
The phrase first came to the public audience in an American 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”, an elderly woman, played by actress Clara Peller, receives a burger with a large bun but a comically small patty from a fictional competitor, which uses the slogan “Home of the Big Bun”. The small patty angers the woman, who exclaims “Where’s the beef?”
Director Joe Sedelmaier actually wanted Peller to say, “Where is all the beef?” but Peller was unable to say the original line due to emphysema.
The commercial was originally supposed to star a young couple, but Sedelmaier did not find the concept funny and changed it to the elderly women.
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 women at the “Home of the Big Bun” examining an exaggeratedly large hamburger bun. The other two women 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 women 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.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Where%27s_the_beef%3F
Video preservation by DDVF.com for educational purposes. Original airdate was Mar 1984.
Add comment