It’s game time for Subway.
The sandwich chain is attempting a comeback with the backing of superstar athletes hyping Subway’s major overhaul in a series of ads that seemingly never end.
The “Eat Fresh Refresh” campaign debuts today as Subway tries to recover from seven consecutive years of sales declines, exacerbated by the pandemic upending the restaurant industry, as well as pressure from smaller chains that have taken a huge bite out of its market share with everything from trendy food to speedy delivery.
A week after announcing its overhaul, Subway is out with lots of advertising to back it up. The campaign starring Tom Brady, Stephen Curry, Megan Rapinoe and Serena Williams represents one of Subway’s largest media investments to date, if not its biggest ever. If those names weren’t enough, voiceover work from Charles Barkley ties many of the ads together.
“The news is exciting and the campaign needs to be big and bold to support it,” says Subway Chief Marketing Officer Carrie Walsh.
Each of the main “It’s Too Much For One Spokesperson” commercials features at least one of the superstars discussing Subway’s refresh and continues into the next.
Curry takes the lead in the initial spot.