Subway Hires Will Arnett to Be Your Inner Monologue

Subway has spent years trying to convince people it is not just where you end up when nothing else sounds good. Its answer this week: hire the guy who has built a career playing men who are quietly falling apart.

The chain launched "Feed Your SUBconscious," a new brand platform starring Will Arnett as America's literal inner voice, the intrusive thought that talks you into a sandwich before you have admitted you are hungry. CMO Jeff Klein described the work as an attempt to skewer the entire modern dining landscape rather than take another straight shot at value pricing or ingredient quality, the two levers most quick-service chains keep pulling.

It is a smart read of where the category actually is. Consumers have been marketed "fresh," "customizable," and "value" so many times the words have gone numb. A campaign that admits the absurdity of the decision-making, of standing in line negotiating with yourself about whether you really need extra pickles, does more work than another ingredient callout ever could.

Whether it moves traffic is the real test. Subway has run more brand-platform swings than almost anyone in fast food over the last five years; the ones that stuck were the ones with a joke sharp enough to survive past the first airing. Arnett, whose entire late-career brand is playing charming disasters, is a better bet than most.

Kyle Duford, Founder & Editor, BRNDWIRE. More from Kyle →