On January 10th, 1984, fast-food chain Wendy's released their "Where's The Beef?" ad campaign, with the first commercial starring Clara Peller premiering in the United States. The strategy behind the ad was that Wendy's was pointing out that they use larger beef patties, in contrast to their competitiors, McDonald's and Burger King, using bigger buns to make the burgers look bigger. Originally, the ad was supposed to star a young couple, but the ad director did not find the concept funny, and instead decided to use an elderly woman. After Peller's commercial aired, the phrase was constantly repeated on television shows, films, magazines, and other media outlets. The success of the ad campaign led to Peller's appearance in a series of commercials for Wendy's, until she appeared in a Prego pasta sauce commercial in 1985. The phrase was also used heavily for the 1984 Presidential Campaign for Walter Mondale, who used the phrase to point out that the polices championed by his rival, Gary Hart, were insubstantial.
