In 2004, fast food company Quiznos launched a national advertising campaign featuring animated rodent-like creatures screech-singing an ode to the chain’s toasted sub sandwiches. The TV commercials were instantly polarizing and lodged themselves in many viewers’ brains like a recurring fever dream. In the latest episode of the Rework podcast, the people behind the campaign share the story of how an early Internet meme got turned into an unforgettable ad campaign.. Take a trip down memory lane and relive the moment when a weird, experimental corner of the Internet briefly crossed into mainstream culture. The real treasure is the spongmonkey friends you made along the way!
We Love the Subs
I absolutely love that you covered this marketing campaign on the podcast. At the time that the campaign was blowing up I absolutely HATED it!!! Learning the background makes so much sense to me now- everything that college aged guys loved drove me nuts! This WAS the most confusing marketing for me for the longest time- up until the Summer’s Eve body wash commercials showing an elephant in the shower. Not. So. Smart.
Thanks Mo! I’ll have to look up that Summer’s Eve commercial. Maybe a future episode?!