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By John Glenday, Reporter

August 27, 2021 | 3 min read

Subway is riding on the coattails of lesser-known brands to promote its refreshed sandwich range, on the premise that its ads are too big for a single spot.

Rather than restrict itself to a standard 30-second slot, the sandwich franchise is collaborating with Bob’s Discount Furniture, The Law Offices of Jacob Emrani and Galpin Motors for a series of ad invasions that eat into the marketing of others, extending Subway’s screen time in the process.

As part of Subway’s Eat Fresh Refresh campaign, the spillover messaging outsources advertising duties to the likes of Little Bob, Beau Boeckmann and personal injury lawyer Jacob Emrami, who pick up where the fast-food chain left off in its own ad.

Explaining the unorthodox approach to bemused viewers, the ads reveal: “Subway has so much new, it didn’t fit in [its] last ad.” Audiences are then invited to call an on-screen number where they will hear a voice recording from Emrani or Boeckmann championing the chain.

Carrie Walsh, chief marketing officer of North America at Subway, told Campaign: “The launch of the Eat Fresh Refresh in July, headlined by the largest menu change in the brand’s history, was a historic moment for Subway. We had so much new coming to our US restaurants that we created a never-ending ad campaign to share it all.”

Pledging to extend this approach to encompass “unexpected places across social media, influencer content and in media partnerships with popular television shows”, Walsh will spearhead the remainder of the takeover campaign through the rest of the year.

Masterminded by DentsuMcgarrybowen and Carat, the series of ad invasions are all in support of a major menu revamp, which has been promoted by sports stars including Megan Rapinoe, Tom Brady and Serena Williams.

Walsh arrived at Subway in October 2019 with a remit to devise the company’s North American marketing and advertising strategy, as well as define global brand standards and strategies across international markets.

Watch two more spots from the campaign.

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