Jimmy John’s features Lil Jon in ads for its new Little John sandwich

Yeah, the smaller sandwich gets big placement on rapper's chain in a new campaign

Published On
Oct 08, 2019

Editor's Pick

Jimmy John’s hired Lil Jon to promote a new smaller sandwich called the Little John in what appears to be one of the most obvious celebrity endorsements of all time.

The Little John is a $3 sandwich that's about half the size of a Jimmy John’s original sandwich. And Lil Jon, the rapper known for songs such as “Get Low,” “Turn Down For What” and “Yeah,” is apparently a fan of the “Freaky Fast” sandwich chain.

The 15-second spot featuring Lil Jon begins with a close-up of the Little John sandwich and, as the camera pans out, it's clear that the ad for the sandwich is on Lil Jon’s chain. “So we bought a little ad on Lil Jon,” the voiceover says before the rapper takes over. (Spoiler alert: He says “yeah,” naturally.)

Lil Jon was already a fan of the brand, Jimmy John’s says. The campaign comes from Work In Progress.

The Little John is a scaled-down version of any of the seven sandwiches in Jimmy John's original lineup including the Vito, the Veggie and, of course, the Big John.

“Jimmy John’s, love the name of the new sandwich, man. Great marketing, especially using me,” Lil Jon says in another spot. 

 

Lil Jon has made quite a career out of endorsements. He appeared in Pepsi’s Super Bowl commercial earlier this year that also featured Cardi B and Steve Carell, teamed up with the Kool-Aid man for a Christmas song in late 2018 and has appeared in spots for brands including Bud Light and Radio Shack. There was also the time he posted on Twitter that he would be Papa John’s next CEO

Jimmy John’s is also promoting the Little John with marketing that doesn’t feature Lil Jon. One spot shows a regular sandwich being served by an employee and the Little John being served by a smaller version of the restaurant worker. Jimmy John’s, which was founded by Jimmy John Liautaud in 1983, is set to be acquired by Inspire Brands later this month. 

 

 

Credits

Date
Oct 08, 2019
Client :
Jimmy John's
Agency :
WorkinProgress
Chief Marketing Officer :
John Shea
Director of Consumer Engagement :
Nathan Louer
Director of Consumer Acquisition & Loyalty :
Suzanne DeRouchie
Senior Designer :
Chris Phillips
Marketing Operations Senior Manager :
Kristi Kaiser
Category Manager :
Josiah Johnston
Partner Creative :
Matt Talbot
Creative Director / Copywriter :
Stephen Dalton
Creative Director / Art Director :
Lauren Perlow
Associate Creative Director / Copywriter :
Josh Shelton
Associate Creative Director / Art Director :
Daniel Pradilla
Associate Creative Director / Copywriter :
Dan Rollman
Senior Designer :
Jimmy Rosen
Partner Production :
Stafford Bosak
Executive Producer :
Molly Schaaf
Partner Account & Strategy :
Alex Guerri
Partner Account & Strategy :
Evan Russack
Director Account & Strategy :
Stacy Moss
Supervisor Account & Strategy :
Sally Kubancik
Partner Technology :
Harold Jones
Production Company :
World War Seven
Director :
David Shafei
Director of Photography :
Damien Acevedo
Executive Producer :
Josh Ferrazzano
Line Producer :
Michael Mitchell
Head of Production :
Megan Pfaffenroth
Editorial Company :
MackCut
Editor :
Ryan Steele
Assistant Editor :
Devon Flint
Executive Producer :
Gina Pagano
Color :
Company 3
Colorist :
Tim Masick
Producer :
Kevin Breheny
VFX & Finishing Company :
Method New York
Creative Director / VFX Supervisor :
Wareen Paleos
VP Senior Executive Producer :
Jesse Kurnit
Flame Artist :
Stephen Morris
Flame Artist :
Brandon Danowski
Nuke Artist :
Urosh Ostasevich
Nuke Artist :
Ryan Leonard
VFX Producer :
Kristin Engdahl
Production Coordinator :
Kyle Fader
Audio Mix House :
Coupe Studios
Audio Engineer & Sound Designer :
Greg McRae
Audio Executive Producer :
Aaron Lasko
Audio Executive Producer :
Eric Singer

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