We present a theoretical and experimental study of a method for the determination of the adhesion
strength between a thin elastomeric film bonded to a rigid substrate and a flexible plate in a geometry
common in the peel test. In particular, we characterize the work of adhesion in terms of the length of an
equilibrium crack, generated by a spacer of known thickness wedged between the flexible plate and adhesive
film, and the elastic and geometric properties of the film and the plate. We treat both the limit of perfect
bonding and that of perfect slippage at the interface of the adhesive film and the flexible plate. A series
of experiments allow us to verify the theory quantitatively and thus validate our method, which ought to
be of value in many technological situations.