Where's Herb? was an advertising campaign for the fast food chain Burger King that ran in 1985 and 1986. The television commercials featured a fictional character named Herb, who was described as never having eaten a Whopper in his life. Advertisements called on fans to visit their local Burger King in the hope of finding Herb and winning a prize. The campaign also included an "I'm not Herb" promotion, in which customers could get a discounted Whopper by including the phrase in their order. This confused people who tried to follow the promotion because they did not know what Herb looked like. By the time his appearance was revealed, many people had already lost interest in the campaign. The promotion was poorly received and was the last campaign that the J. Walter Thompson agency designed for Burger King.
Campaign
When the commercials were created, Burger King was suffering due to poor marketing. The new promotion was designed to counter the successful marketing efforts of McDonald's, who were spending an estimated US$80 to 100 million to promote the McDLT (McDonald's Lettuce and Tomato), and of Wendy's, which had found success with its "Where's the beef?" commercials.[1]