History
Launched by the Chicago based National Livestock and Meat Board through a promotional arm, "The Beef Council" (aka "The Beef Industry Council"), by the advertising firm of Leo Burnett Company the week of May 18, 1992. The "Beef. It's What's For Dinner" campaign was established through television and radio ads that featured actor Robert Mitchum as its first narrator, and scenarios and music ("Hoe-down") from the Rodeo suite by Aaron Copland, followed by a large magazine campaign that was rolled out in late July and early August.
The initial campaign ran for 17 months at a cost of $42 million. It featured the tag line: "Nothing satisfies so many people in so many ways".
The new campaign replaced the slogan "Beef. Real food for real people" from the San Francisco firm of Ketchum Advertising. Leo Burnett beat out Ketchum, GSD&M Advertising, and DDB Needham. Mitchum replaced such spokespeople as James Garner, Cybill Shepherd, Larry Bird, who had appeared in recent beef campaigns for The Beef Council. The previous campaigns featured these stars in front of the camera but the new one only used voice-over narration and highlighted the prepared beef itself.
The Beef Checkoff promotion was funded by collecting a dollar on every cow, steer, and bull sold in the United States.
22 spots ran during the 1992 Summer Olympics broadcast from Barcelona, Spain. For the Lillehammer, Norway based 1994 Winter Olympics 34 spots were run at a cost of $2 million.
In May of 1993, Dairy Management Inc. and the Beef Industry Council created a promotion called "Double Cheese Cheeseburger Days".
After the death of Robert Mitchum on July 1, 1997, the campaign let the existing ads that were scheduled play-out through their contract over the next few months. The campaign was already set to switch to new ads featuring anonymous narrators with the new campaign and slogan: "Beef. It's what you want". But the new campaign was less favorable and "Beef. It's What's For Dinner." was brought back in the fall of 1999 with Sam Elliott now doing the voice-over in place of Mitchum.
A website BeefItsWhatsForDinner.com was launched in 2002 and serves as a resource for how to prepare and enjoy beef. The Web site addresses topics such as recipes, shopping recommendations, cooking tips, proper food handling and nutrition facts. www.BeefItsWhatsForDinner.com also includes Beef So Simple, a weekly electronic newsletter featuring beef cooking tips and recipes.
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