Subway To Reduce Use Of Pitchmen In Ads; Hires BBDO For New Marketing Strategy

Subway Chief Advertising Officer Chris Carroll said that the QSR "will reduce its reliance on pitchmen to promote its brand, and will instead put more emphasis on the company’s products," a decision which "was made independent and prior to the whole episode with" former spokesperson Jared Fogle, according to Suzanne Vranica of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. Subway "has hired Omnicom Group’s BBDO to come up with a new marketing strategy as the sandwich chain tries to reverse slumping sales." The 50-year-old company said that Fogle’s legal problems "had nothing to do with the agency review or the need for a new creative direction." Instead, Subway said that the change "was part of a company-wide 'brand revitalization process' that it initiated to reverse a sales slump." Paid endorsers include Dodgers P Clayton Kershaw, Olympic gymnast Nastia Liukin and Titans QB Marcus Mariota (WSJ.com, 8/27).