Where’s the Beef

“Where’s the beef?” is a catch phrase in the United States and Canada. Since it was first used as an advertising slogan, it has become an all-purpose phrase questioning the substance of an idea, event, or product

Where’s the Beef? Hamburger Recipes for Hamburger Day and The Lunar Eclipse 2010

Yes, I said it and no it is not the 80’s: Where’s the Beef? Today is Hamburger Day and I figured since everyone seems to be up late for the lunar eclipse, we might as well celebrate both.

My family enjoys many types burgers and although the winter is not usually when you think of burgers, we grill them on an indoor grill. My favorite meat of choice is bison or grass-fed beef but no matter your preference, we have recipes to make you drool….

The Mediterranean Bison Burger is unique due to Spinach & Artichoke Hummus as a topping.

If you are a meatloaf lover, you will go crazy for the Grilled Meatloaf Burgers.

And finally, if you love buffalo wings and burgers, this Buffalo Burger with blue cheese spread is your dream come true.

http://blogs.babble.com

Where’s the beef? On FOX’s ‘Million Dollar Money Drop’

How tall is LeBron James? What about Michael Phelps? Oh, and where’s the beef?

Google’s search trend listings were dominated by such trivia Monday night (Dec. 20) — thanks to FOX’s new game show “Million Dollar Money Drop.”

The trivia-related queries all had to do with the game (hosted by comedian Kevin Pollak), which hands contestants a million dollars in cash at the outset of the game and has them bet on multiple-choice trivia questions. If they place money on a wrong answer, it literally drops through a trap door and can’t be recovered.

Based on the frequency of searches, people were playing along at home. The relative heights of NBA All-Star James, Olympic champion Phelps, Indianapolis Colts QB Peyton Manning and New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez were compared on the show (for the record, James is the tallest at 6-foot-8; A-Rod is the shortest at 6-3).

Where's the Beef Where's the Beef

The first contestants on the show, dating couple Gabe and Brittany, also had to know who the lead singer of U2 is (Bono) and how to punch in his name on a phone keypad (2666). They were also asked which of the following ad slogans is the oldest: “Just do it,” “Melts in your mouth, not in your hands” and the aforementioned “Where’s the beef?” The honor goes to “Melts in your mouth,” which M&M’s introduced in the 1950s.

What did you think of “Million Dollar Money Drop”? Does it have you hooked?

http://blog.zap2it.com

“Where’s the beef?” is a catch phrase in the United States and Canada. Since it was first used as an advertising slogan, it has become an all-purpose phrase questioning the substance of an idea, event, or product

History

The phrase first came to public attention as a U.S. television commercial for the Wendy’s chain of hamburger restaurants in 1984. In the ad, titled “Fluffy Bun”, actress Clara Peller receives a burger with a massive bun from a fictional competitor which uses the slogan “Home of the Big Bun”. The small patty prompts Peller to angrily exclaim, “Where’s the beef?” The catch phrase was repeated in television shows, films, magazines, and other media outlets.

First airing on January 10, 1984, the original commercial featured three elderly ladies examining an exaggeratedly large hamburger bun topped with a minuscule hamburger patty. The other two ladies poked 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 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 approaching fast food drive-up windows that were slammed down before she could complete the line.

Later in 1984, Nashville songwriter and DJ Coyote McCloud wrote and performed a hit song entitled “Where’s the Beef?” as a promotion for Wendy’s restaurants’ famous advertising campaign featuring Clara Peller.[2]

The advertising campaign ended in 1985 after Peller performed in a commercial for Prego pasta sauce, saying that she “finally found” the beef.[

Credits

William Welter, the executive vice president of Wendy's International, led the marketing team at the time of the campaign.[4] The commercial was directed by Joe Sedelmaier as part of a campaign by the advertising agency Dancer Fitzgerald Sample. It was written by Cliff Freeman. The public relations and promotion campaign were created by Alan Hilburg and the Burson-Marsteller team under the direction of Denny Lynch, the vice president of corporate communications at Wendy’s.
[edit] Gary Hart and Walter Mondale

The phrase became 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 March 11, 1984 televised debate prior to the New York and Pennsylvania primaries.[1]

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?’”. Subsequently, the two campaigns continually clashed using the two dueling slogans.[1]

In popular culture

* The TV series The Simpsons has referenced the line several times. In the episode “Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie”, after Homer receives an honor roll bumper sticker for Lisa, he says that he never thought he would find anything that would replace his “Where’s the beef?” bumper sticker. In “Lisa’s First Word”, Homer, while looking at a newspaper from Lisa’s birth, the headline reads “Mondale to Hart: ‘Where’s the Beef?’” In “Please Homer, Don’t Hammer ‘Em”, Bart sees a very old arcade game that depicts Rocky Balboa and Clara Peller shouting their respective catchphrases (Balboa’s being “You ain’t so bad!”). In the “Treehouse of Horror” sketch “Attack of the 50-foot Eyesores”, it is said that all advertising gimmicks eventually fade, “Like that old woman who couldn’t find the beef”.
* In an episode of the television series Scrubs, a patient that has been in a coma since the 1980s awakes. Wearing a red jacket similar to one worn by Michael Jackson in a music video, he moonwalks into the scene with a Rubik’s Cube and asks, “Where’s the beef?”
* In an episode of The Office, Michael Scott cited “Where’s the beef?” as something that an older generation gave to society.
* Leonard Cohen’s song ‘Closing Time’ references the phrase in the lyric: We’re lonely, we’re romantic, and the cider’s laced with acid, and the Holy Spirit’s crying,”Where’s the beef?”
* In the 2010 movie Hot Tub Time Machine, a girl in the ski lodge is seen wearing a shirt that reads “Where’s the beef?”
* The Gemmy Industries Singing fish, Cool Catfish says “Where’s the beef?” as one of its 20 phrases.
* “Big Herms” Fantasy Football uses the phrase “Where’s the Beef?” to describe a team that repeatedly gets beat. During a week 5 victory the Kiev Kids said “Sbano where’s the beef?”
* In an episode of Raising Hope, Sabrina says that Jimmy kind of looks like “where’s the beef?” lady.
* In an episode of The Suite Life On Deck, Ms. Tutweiller was fighting in a battle between which style the top deck will get and says “Where’s the beef?”

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