The ad industry has lost a giant. Cliff Freeman, the creative director and copywriter behind iconic campaigns such as “Where’s the Beef” for Wendy’s, “Pizza Pizza” for Little Caesars and “Sometimes you feel like a nut” for Almond Joy and Mounds, died at the age of 80 on Sept. 5 in his Manhattan home, as first reported by The New York Times. According to his wife, Susan Kelner Freeman, the cause was pneumonia.

As a copywriter in the ‘70s at Dancer Fitzgerald Sample and in leading his own shop Cliff Freeman and Partners from its founding in 1987 through the 2000s, the Mississipi-born Freeman made an indelible mark on advertising with his desire to flat-out entertain.  

He unabashedly embraced slaptick, out-there humor, and when he loved a piece of work he rewarded his staff with his infectious laugh. “What we all wanted was the laugh,” recalled Taras Wayner, chief creative officer of VMLY&R New York, who worked as an associate creative director at CF&P from 1997 to 2005. “His laugh fed you for days.”

When it didn’t pass muster, he “punished” his staffers with two words: “Not funny!” recalls Rosie Bardales, a former CF&P associate creative director who is now chief creative officer at BETC London.

Ad Age sibling publication Creativity magazine even dedicated a regular section to him, titled “The Cliff Freeman Comedy Corner.” It honored the funniest work at the time—whether or not Freeman made it.

But all those laughs also sold really, really hard.

Freeman wasn’t afraid of putting the product front and center. Wendy’s famous commercial reminded viewers how puny the patties of its competitors were—with the help of a massive bun, a lilliputian bite of beef and that unforgettable line. For Little Caesars, what could be more client-centric than repeating your signature product offering, over and over again?

That hard-working humor rang true in his other work, for Staples, Hollywood Video, Mike's Hard Lemonade, Budget, Pep Boys and more. 

Here, we look back on some of Freeman’s most memorable moments. Coming out of the darkness and chaos of the last 18+ months, the hilarity will likely provide a bit of respite, and no doubt induce a chuckle or a snort. Which is exactly what Freeman would have wanted.

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Wendy’s: Where’s the beef?

The really famous one. Sure, it was funny, and it even made it into a presidential debate, but it also helped to turn Wendy’s into a major competitor in the burger wars and led to a 31% sales boost and a 24% jump in profit.

Almond Joy/Mounds: Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don’t

Freeman penned the famous jingle for the Hershey-owned candy bars, which captured U.S. hearts despite a modest media buy. 

Little Caesars: Focus Group

One of Freeman's gifts was in casting, and he consistently tapped real people to be his stars. “Cliff used these folks over and over again for their remarkable deadpans and unexpected line readings,” said Anne Kurtzman, who served as his head of production from 1989 until 1995.

“The characters were lovably odd, good-natured, never mean-spirited, and strangely ‘real,’” added Greg Bell, co-founder of Venables Bell and Partners and now a director at Tomorrow, who had been an art director at CF&P for five years in the ‘90s. “Lesser ad creatives would cop that style of unusual casting but regrettably use them in ways that made fun of them. Not Cliff. His humanity and his heart was on display in almost every one of his agency’s ads.”

This ad didn't feature a "real people" cast, but they weren't the sports stars you'd expect. 

Fox Sports: Sports News From the Only Region You Care About

Featuring faux sports including cliff-diving into dirt in Turkey and face-slapping in Russia, this campaign went hyperbolic in delivering the client’s message—that Fox Sports brings you only the stuff you really want to watch. 

"I was a big fan of his agency’s work on Little Caesars and Staples and thought it might be a great way to differentiate the more entertainment-oriented 'Fox' brand from the more hardcore 'fan-centric' ESPN," recalled independent management consultant Neal Tiles, who had been executive VP of Fox Sports at the time. "'I think we can do great work together,' Cliff said in that distinctive Southern drawl of his. 'It can be totally different from what ESPN is doing.' It was as if he read my mind."

The effort went on to win the 2001 Film Lion Grand Prix at Cannes, while other campaigns the agency made for the brand also earned accolades.

Mike’s Hard Lemonade: A hard day calls for a Mike’s Hard Lemonade

After a hard day of getting your appendages chopped off, what better way to decompress than with a bottle of Mike’s Hard Lemonade?

Staples: The most wonderful time of the year

This back-to-school ad from 1996 would play especially well today, as many of the parents who’ve been virtual schooling their children for nearly two years saw their little ones finally return to the classroom.

Cherry Coke: Ostrich

Directed by Tony Kaye (“American History X”), this spot depicted a man riding an ostrich through a shopping mall. The point? To encourage people to do something different. The ad also marked Octavia Spencer’s first on-screen acting gig.

Outpost.com: Gerbils

The infamous 1998 Super Bowl spot was dot com advertising at its most outrageous. 

And then, there were wolves.