Jimmy John’s Tony Bolognavich character protests its new wraps

Brad Garrett continues his role as the king of cold cuts in work from Anomaly

Published On
Jul 12, 2021

Editor's Pick

Jimmy John’s is promoting two limited-time summer wraps with the help of Tony Bolognavich, Brad Garrett’s comically incensed character introduced in its Super Bowl campaign.

In “Shakedown,” the main spot for the campaign slated for heavy national broadcast exposure, the Bolognavich character is upset about the new Chicken Caesar and Beefy Ranch wraps—salads, essentially, complete with croutons, in wrap form. The spot comes from Anomaly, directed by Randy Krallman of Smuggler.

Social videos show the character turning into a pitchman for salad items that no one would ever want to buy: dry-aged salad, instant salad and the unwieldy salad on a stick.

The campaign launches a day before Subway plans to hit refresh, offering new items including two types of bread and deli-thin sliced meats, as it tries to overcome seven consecutive years of sales declines.

“Not sure if you’ve noticed, but there’s a Sandwich War going down. And Jimmy John’s is never one to back down from a fight,” Josh Fell, chief creative officer, Anomaly, said in a statement.

According to Jimmy John’s, its new wraps were the highest performing concepts ever put through its consumer screening process. They’re priced about $1 above the sandwiches on its “Favorites” menu such as its various club sandwiches.

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