The man who made 'Where's the beef?' immortal in 42 chaotic minutes.
As one of his generation's quintessential Mad Men, television commercial director Joe Sedelmaier's work was iconic, dynamic, and instantly recognizable--some twenty to thirty years later, people are still wondering 'Where's the beef?” He turned the advertising world on its brain-damaged head by casting offbeat non-actors in still-unforgettable spots. His brilliant, frequently hysterical commercials for Wendy's, Alaska Airlines, Federal Express and others were snappy slices of cultural quirk that tapped into the Cold War-fearing, corporate workaholic zeitgeist of the '70s and '80s with a sense of humor that cracked billions of smiles, sold billions of burgers, and sped up the default rhythm of time-based media.
Editing
Rapid-fire cuts that mirror Sedelmaier's own snappy commercial style.
Production
Archival ad footage that hits harder than most Oscar clips.
Director
Marsie Jacober Wallach
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Sedelmaier's Wendy's spot became so ubiquitous that Walter Mondale quoted 'Where's the beef?' in a 1984 presidential debate.
The Federal Express 'fast-talker' spot with John Moschitta Jr. held a Guinness record for fastest spoken English—yet Sedelmaier found him in a casual conversation, not an audition.
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