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MEMORIES:
239classiccartooner remembers...i love wendy's their classic double cheese burgers are so good i rember the 80's wendy's commercial with the people ... More »
Posted on 07/14/08
PHOTOS:
CATCH PHRASE:
High quality and quick service? You’ve got to be kidding! Well, Wendy’s founder, Dave Thomas wasn’t kidding when he opened his first restaurant in Columbus, Ohio. At a time when other fast food restaurants were using frozen foods and mass-production, Dave had a desire to develop innovations to bring freshness and quality to the hamburger industry. Wendy’s is known for their square-shaped hamburgers, and that’s a promise delivered by Dave Thomas, to never ‘cut corners.’
After being given an opportunity during the flower power year of 1969, Dave Thomas followed his dream and his love of hamburgers and opened the first Wendy’s. Of course, choosing the name Wendy’s wasn’t the quickest choice. After trying out all five of his kids’ names for the restaurant, he went with his daughter Melinda’s nickname – Wendy. Of course, Wendy’s isn’t just about Dave’s daughter and ‘hot ‘n juicy’ burgers – there was chili, French fries, a variety of soft drinks and of course, the famous Frosty, all available on day one!
Wendy’s was also the first with technological innovations. Fresh, made-to-order burgers using fresh, not frozen, beef was the signature for the growing company. Wendy’s was also the first to offer drive-through window service, using a speaker box for a customer to place the order, then drive up to the window to pay and pick up the food. In 1979, Wendy’s introduced a salad bar, and by 1983 they added baked potatoes to their expanding menu, showing many that fast-food dining didn’t have to be such a greasy affair. On the heels of success with the drive through system, Wendy’s grew rapidly, and by 1985 Wendy’s had well over 3,000 stores open.
Despite the rapid growth and popularity, it would be in the mid-80s that Wendy’s would leave a permanent mark on pop culture. In 1984, Wendy’s started a North American campaign with the tagline “Where’s the Beef?” The ad was a success and sparked notoriety around the nation, especially when Walter Mondale used the line during a 1984 debate with fellow Democrat, Gary Hart, to win the Democratic primaries. Soon, however, the campaign had to be dropped, as the elderly actress from the Wendy’s commercials was featured in a Prego spaghetti sauce ad saying that she “finally found the beef.”
With the loss of a spokesperson, Wendy’s marketing execs decided that there was no better person to campaign for Wendy’s than founder Dave Thomas, himself. Starting in 1989, the commercials were nothing fancy in and of themselves and mainly featured Dave Thomas talking about the quality of Wendy’s hamburgers. Consumers ate it up, giving us a Guinness World Record for the “Longest Running Advertising Campaign Starring a Company Founder.” By 1996, the Dave Thomas Campaign had produced 500 commercials, with more and more coming each year. Throughout the years, Dave would appear with sports legends and Hollywood stars to promote Wendy’s restaurants. It was through this, and in contrast and defiance of the fame he’d attained in the process, Dave became an American Folk Hero of sorts – an everyman who made it and had passion for his business. The campaign continued for a total of 13 years, ending with the passing of Dave Thomas in 2002.
Across the country, fans of the fast-food chain continue to flock there for the fresh-taste and unique shape they’ve enjoyed for years. An order of fries, a Coca-Cola and a Junior Frosty are usually about enough to fill a rumbly tumbly. And, of course, a Wendy’s Classic Single with cheese. (There's the beef!)
