JANUARY 10th -- The Philosophy of Clara Peller (or Where's the Beef?)



On this day in 1984, at the ripe young age of 81, Clara Peller first asked, “Where’s the beef?” for a Wendy’s commercial. Insert clichés about never being too old for new experiences. But as I’ve noted before, clichés are used for a reason--they tell the truth. And people place a high premium on the truth. Rightfully so. Because the truth will set you free--whoops, got caught in a Cliché Circle there. In truth, the truth can put you in a bind if you aren’t careful. Like when your best friend, who wants to be a singer, belts out “I Will Always Love You,” and asks for your critique. But it sounded like someone was choking a sick cat. You probably shouldn’t say, “Hey, that sounds like someone choking a sick cat.” Maybe just say, “It’s needs a little work.” The truth needs to be massaged sometimes. Like Clara’s commercial. Wendy’s burgers really weren’t all that different in beef-to-bun ratio than McDonald's or Burger King, but damn if that wasn’t a funny tagline. And there was truth too. When you think about it, life really comes down to “Where’s the beef?” It works on so many levels. Where is the good stuff? The stuff that you are here for. The stuff that makes you happy. That makes you feel good. And where’s the beef? As in what’s the issue here? Need to know the problem before you can fix it. So you see Clara Peller was really a philosopher on par with Heidegger and Nietzsche and Aristotle. She taught you about clichés, which consequently taught you about the truth, which consequently taught you about life, which can whittled down to one simple phrase, “Where’s the beef?”

This Day has been Marked.

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