Voice of Arby’s, Ving Rhames, appears on camera to accost the chain’s skeptics in new ad

Ving Rhames has been the voice of Arby’s ad campaigns for a decade, but now he’s making his first on-camera appearance—in a new spot where he takes exception to one viewer’s glib assumption that “no one” eats at Arby’s these days. The 30-second spot from Fallon broke on Saturday night during March Madness. It’s quite meta (anagram for meat, btw), with Rhames climbing out of the TV and accosting a guy who disses the fast-food chain. “Arby’s food is next level,” Rhames tells our hapless skeptics, before grabbing a sandwich from inside the TV and feeding it to him. The spot advertises Arby’s Free Sandwich Month. Throughout April, Arby’s Rewards members will receive one digital deal every Monday for one free sandwich. The new ad will air across social, digital and broadcast TV. Fallon created the work with MSL, Arby’s PR agency. The “No one has” line is pretty unexpected—it’s not every day that a company says, even in jest, that no one is buying its products. But Ellen Rose, Arby’s chief marketing officer, told Ad Age that the brand is comfortable being self-deprecating. “The line was a self-aware comedic line meant to point out a false perception about Arby’s,” she said. “People sometimes say things like ‘No one eats there’ but in reality, Arby’s has a loyal, passionate and varied fan base. The brand is self-aware about the conversations and wanted to make light of, and have some fun with, the skeptics.” The line also sets the stage for Rhames to make the on-camera appearance, as he has a reason to come out from behind the VO. “The success of the ‘We Have The Meats’ campaign is due in large part to the Arby’s brand voice. When the time came to bring Ving on-camera, we knew we had to do it in a way as brazen and self-aware as this now-iconic voice,” said Joe Johnson, creative director at Fallon. “Fallon has been toying with the right time to reveal Ving on-camera. There’s only one time to be able to do this, and to do this in a big way. We’ve been waiting for a huge moment, and we’ve found it with Free Sandwich Month.” The campaign also includes a social element called the “Try Detector Test,” where the chain will challenge four real people who have publicly declared (on X) that they’re skeptical of Arby’s.

Voice of Arby’s, Ving Rhames, appears on camera to accost the chain’s skeptics in new ad

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