The Skepticism of Clara Peller

[SKEPTICAL INQUIREE BENJAMIN RADFORD Benjamin Radford is a research fellow at the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and author or coauthor of seven books, including Mysterious New Mexico: Miracles, Magic, and Monsters in the Land of Enchantment. The Skepticism of Clara Peller Who do you consider to be one of the most types looking over a hamburger at a under-appreciated or neglected skeptics of the past company called “Big Bun” whose giant few decades? bun obscured a tiny beef patty appar- : —L. Roe ently about the size of a hockey puck. Q While the other two little old ladies politely poke around the fluffy bun looking for the meat, the diminutive That’s an interesting track of skeptical contributors over the Peller acts as the brash, outraged voice ques tion. There are many years, and there are dozens of candidates. of directness and reason, uttering her immortal skeptical phrase: “Where’s great, hard-working skep- But I’m going to go with a widely : the Beef?” She plays the role of the boy tics who are little-known known pop culture figure who left a who said the emperor has no clothes— outside of the skeptical lasting (if unlikely) legacy of skep- A the original outspoken skeptic. community, and many more ticism. I’m referring to Clara Peller who are no longer with us. In a follow-up commercial, while (1902–1987), best known for her fa- the two other ladies are on the phone Historians of the skeptical community, mous skeptical question, “Where’s the debating what to say to the Big Bun such as Daniel Loxton and Tim Farley Beef?” in ads for Wendy’s hamburgers. manager about the tiny patty, Pel- (author of the “Skeptical Anniversaries” The ad, originally titled “Fluffy ler will have none of it; she grabs the piece on the last page of this magazine), Bun,” depicted three mild and unas- phone and yells her signature line into have done an admirable job of keeping suming white-haired grandmotherly the receiver so that her message is loud Figure 2. A magazine advertisement for Wendy’s in 2011 Figure 1. The 1984 “Where’s the Beef?” campaign spawned many pop culture items, including hats, T-shirts, stickers, and revived their classic twenty-seven-year-old “Where’s the commemorative plates and cups featuring the skeptical catchphrase. From the author’s collection, photo by the author. Beef?” slogan. 36 Volume 39 Issue 2 | Skeptical Inquirer Beyond Wendy’s and clear. With no answer forthcoming of improving nuclear safety. Just two from the manager, the trio then calls The commercial was a smash hit: weeks later The New York Times fea- the president of Big Bun Incorporated “Hitting the airwaves on Jan. 10, 1984, tured an article about the “Where’s the with their grievance. The owner, a rich ‘Where’s the Beef?’ was an instant Beef?” campaign, and on the popular fat cat on a yacht named the S.S. Big sensation, spawning a series of Peller- NBC comedy 30 Rock, the lead charac- Bun with a butler nearby and a bevy of starring sequels along with a raft of ter Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) states fondly merchandise, from T-shirts to bumper beautiful women in the background, is in episode 516 (February 24, 2011) that stickers to Frisbees to a board game literally bowled over by Peller’s ques- she met Clara Peller. Wendy’s briefly [see Figure 1]. Peller even recorded tion. The catchphrase took aim at rival revived its slogan in a 2011 campaign a ‘Where’s the Beef?’ novelty single hamburger franchises McDonald’s and (Figure 2), which also raised money for Burger King, whose signature sand- with Nashville disc jockey Coyote McCloud” (Nemetz 2014). foster children. wiches contained less beef than Wen- The slogan’s power comes from dy’s hamburgers. The slogan later became a pop cultural shorthand for “Where’s your its no-bullshit simplicity and demand proof?” or “Show me your evidence.” for directness, cutting through corpo- Behind the Ad This pretension-and-hype skewering rate advertising bluster and hype with In the documentary film Art & Copy, slogan was adopted by Walter Mon- three simple words. That this verbal pioneering advertising executive Hal dale during the 1984 presidential pri- challenge began as a commercial slo- Riney stated—perhaps apocryphally— that “They tried to kill ‘Where’s the Beef?’ a week before it was supposed to That this verbal challenge began as a go on the air. The testing service said, ‘Absolutely do not under any circum- commercial slogan does not detract from its stances put that commercial on the air’” importance or value to skepticism; many (Riney 2009). Yet of course they did, and it was later named one of the top commercial slogans use and promote ten advertising slogans of the twentieth important positive messages. century by Ad Age magazine. Of course Peller—as iconic as she was in the role—was just the actress. “The ‘Where’s the beef?’ commercial mary race, and unlike other popular was written by Cliff Freeman and di- gan does not detract from its impor- catchphrases whose expiry dates have rected by Joe Sedelmaier for the Dancer tance or value to skepticism; many long come and gone (Remember “Be Fitzgerald Sample agency. Wendy’s commercial slogans use and promote Like Mike” and “Dude, You’re Get- parted ways with Ms. Peller a year after important positive messages, includ- ting a Dell”?), “Where’s the Beef?” is its debut, in the wake of her appearance ing Nike’s inspirational “Just Do It!” still widely used and recognized nearly in a spot for Prego Plus pasta sauce in and Dove’s self-esteem building “Love a third of a century after its introduc- which she declared: ‘I found it! I really the Skin You’re In” phrases. Skeptics tion. In a July 2, 2014, article in ABQ should embrace widely known skepti- found it!’ Although the Prego parent, Free Press, a newspaper in Albuquer- Campbell Soup, sold no burgers, Wen- que, New Mexico, former governor Bill cal phrases; “Where’s the Beef?” is not dy’s said it believed that Ms. Peller ‘can only a versatile skeptical challenge but Richardson began an article: “‘Where’s ■ find the beef in only one place, and the Beef?’ The slogan from a 1984 ham- one of the best. that is Wendy’s.’ She did not work for burger chain ad could be resurrected to References Wendy’s again and died in 1987” (El- characterize the performance of Gov. Elliott, Stuart. 2014. After 27 years, an answer liott 2014). Susana Martinez. That’s because she When asked by Bryant Gumbel on to the question, ‘Where’s the beef?’ New York has nothing to show for her four years Times (September 26): B4. Today why Clara Peller was so effec- but a dizzying downward in the state’s Nemetz, Dave. 2014. The inside story of the tive in the ads, commercial producer economy . .” (Richardson 2014). Wendy’s ‘Where the Beef?’ Ad, 30 years later. Sedelmaier responded, “Because she’s Though “Where’s the Beef?” has Yahoo TV (January 8). Online at https:// tv.yahoo.com/blogs/yahoo-tv/inside-story- real. Because Clara is Clara—she’s not been embraced by politicians, many wendy-where-beef-ad-30-years-004259251. doing someone else.” The feisty every- others have used it as well to describe html. woman authenticity that Peller brought promises unfulfilled. Theoretical phys- Richardson, Bill. 2014. Richardson Says Susana to the part is surely part of its appeal, as icist and science popularizer Michio is all bun, no burger. ABQ Free Press (July 2): 10. is the simplicity and directness of the Kaku invoked the phrase on Septem- Riney, Hal. 2009. Quoted in Art & Copy docu- line (which was originally “Where’s all ber 12, 2011, in an ABC Nightly News mentary film, directed by Doug Pray. Art & the beef?”). discussion about unfulfilled promises Industry productions. Skeptical Inquirer | March/April 2015 37.

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