Wendy’s Marketing Chief Quits

The top marketing official at Wendy’s International Inc. resigned Monday in an apparent feud with management, the Dublin, Ohio-based fast-food company said.

William M. Welter said he is leaving as Wendy’s executive vice president-marketing because of a “disagreement with management over the strategic direction of Wendy’s marketing.”

Robert L. Barney, Wendy’s chairman and CEO, said the company is in the process of selecting a new marketing chief.

Welter joined Wendy’s in 1981 as vice president-marketing and headed the team that developed the popular “Where’s the Beef?” commercials in 1983.

Last month, Wendy’s unveiled a television advertising campaign with the theme line “Give a Little Nibble,” showing people breaking chunks of meat off huge replicas of hamburgers.

The commercials were created by Dick Rich Inc., a New York-based advertising agency that developed its “Hot ‘N Juicy” campaign in the 1970s.

“There comes a time when you feel it’s time to make a change and this is one of them,” Welter said.