BBDO Wins Subway

By Patrick Coffee 

Subway, home of the world’s freshest avocado, has chosen BBDO as its new creative AOR after a review.

The Wall Street Journal broke news of the win this afternoon after the client officially announced the review in July. That announcement came amidst recent legal troubles involving one Jared Fogle and the appointment of Chris Carroll–former SVP of marketing at Subway and EVP/chief client officer at Zimmerman Advertising–as its new CMO.

The client, which became the world’s largest fast food chain in 2011, had decided to launch a review after U.S. sales dipped last year, long before Fogle inspired so many negative headlines. According to the WSJ, this was all part of a larger “brand revitalization process.”

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Subway has yet to comment on what future campaigns might look like, though Bloomberg reported in July that the chain had planned to recast Jared, who appeared in more than 300 ads over 15 years, as a “family man.”

The chain will undoubtedly remain the world’s largest, but its market share has been falling faster than that of chief competitor McDonald’s thanks to its decision to focus on expansion and an inability to keep up with trends in fast casual dining (read: Chipotle).

Despite the slump, the company increased its media spend in 2014 from $517 million to $534 million.

Good luck to BBDO.

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