Commercial Director Behind 'Where's the Beef?' Dies at 92

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Mark Jeffries

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2:22 AM (10 hours ago) 2:22 AM

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From his home base in Chicago, Joe Sedelmaier made a long series of TV commercials that were funny and sold the product at the same time--his best-known spots were the famous Wendy's ad that made elderly Clara Peller a brief star for her bellow of "Where's the beef?" at the competition's tiny burger and a series of FedEx ads spotlighting the fast-talking ability of John Moschitta, Jr. (both in link and examples of his knack of finding slightly unusual-looking actors to populate the spots)--at home of natural causes "in his favorite chair":

https://reel360.com/article/joe-sedelmaier-director-behind-wheres-the-beef-dies-at-92/

I have a fondness for a promo he made for WLS in Chicago's "Eyewitness News" that soft-pedaled that station's tendency for "happy talk" by presenting a fictional competition of a pompous anchor, a ditzy, buxom weather girl and an incompetent ex-jock sportscaster: