Quiznos' saucy new mascot.
The Quiznos sandwich chain was originally founded in our neck of the woods (in Denver) and nimbly managed to navigate the cutthroat fast-casual competition, culminating in a brand that’s now recognized coast to coast. Clearly, people enjoy Quiznos’ signature toasted subs. But what about its commercials?
From the get-go, the sub shop has been releasing advertisements that are memorable, to say the least.
It all started with a spot featuring that guy from “Big Bang Theory,” suckling on a wolf’s teat:
Then the company deployed singing mutant hamsters:
After that, things really got weird. Enter the sexualized, talking oven:
Next up, the “2 Girls, 1 Sub” campaign, possibly the only sandwich commercial that might be unsafe for viewing at work:
But are these inane ads really effective?
It’s hard to argue with the lucrative success of Old Spice’s comically nonsensical “Smell Like a Man, Man” commercials. And dreaming up odd marketing gimmicks like Burger King’s Subservient Chicken campaign helped propel ad agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky to worldwide prominence. But just because the advertising is consistent and memorable doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good for business.
Take Quiznos’ campaign for its Chicken Bacon Dipper sandwich, launched earlier this year. This series makes the company’s other commercials seem downright staid and sensible. The Dipper spots left us stunned—and sort of frightened. Judge one for yourself:
Beyond the simple fact that it makes viewers feel queasy and violated, this commercial has a more significant problem.
This image does not win the Pepsi Challenge.
To demonstrate, let’s consider one of Peter’s Humor Research Lab experiments, in which participants watched a lime cola advertisement featuring an anthropomorphized lime peeing into a glass of soda. While the participants reported they found the ad memorable, they weren’t very fond of the lime cola HuRL researchers subsequently asked them to drink. Maybe they thought it tasted like pee.
Indeed, funny ads work best when the product for sale isn’t the target of the joke. Apple’s “Mac vs. PC” ads were successful because the joke was on Apple’s competitor.
As for the Bacon Dipper Quiznos ads? While they may in some strange way be funny, the jokes target the sandwich and the people eating it. And it’s hard to associate sauce-smeared beards with anything appetizing.
We’re not saying Quiznos’ marketing gurus should retire their weird streak. In a time when too much marketing is insipid and lazy, it’s good to see a major brand unafraid to get its freak on. But in this case, the company should have invested in some follow-up research before they unleashed this off-putting beast of a campaign.
Quiznos, consider your ad campaign toast.
