Jersey Mike’s “A Sub Above” platform has been a staple of the growing sandwich chain since 2014. The company launched a new platform Monday under the well-known positioning called “The Honest Sub.” The fresh and upbeat campaign consists of six 15-second national TV spots, and focuses on simple and honest truths about Jersey Mike’s, the brand said, while visually capturing the “break-from-life moments” experienced when biting into the perfect sub.
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The ads were created by Jersey Mike’s longtime agency of record, Planet Propaganda.
“We decided to do things a bit differently with this campaign,” said Rich Hope, Jersey Mike’s chief marketing officer, in a statement. “We’ve always loved giving the world a peek behind our sub counters—our process, our people, our product—and we’ll never abandon that completely. But with ‘Honest Sub’ we’re extending our message to focus on some simple truths about our brand while zeroing in on that ‘moment’ our customer has with a Jersey Mike’s sub, whether it’s a lunch break, big game, or family dinner. And it’s a moment that we’re so grateful to be a part of.”
Jersey Mike’s new campaign will first roll out on CBS, NBC, and ESPN during college football and basketball games, and will continue to unfold with additional TV work throughout the course of 2019.
Maggie Brennan, senior account executive at Planet Propaganda, added: “Jersey Mike’s is all about the classic sub and has been since its first sub shop opened at the Jersey Shore in 1956. They keep it honest and that’s what this campaign aims to do. Capture the honest goodness of Jersey Mike’s, both in philosophy and flavor.”
Jersey Mike’s continues to propel its unit count as one of the industry’s fastest-growing brands. After opening 173 new locations last year, Jersey Mike’s currently has more than 1,500 restaurants open or under development nationwide. From 2016–2017, Jersey Mike’s added 156 restaurants to bring its total to 1,343 stores. Among this year’s sandwich chains in the QSR 50, Jersey Mike’s was the fastest growing, trailed by Jimmy John’s at 108. No other brand in the sandwich rankings tacked on triple-digit restaurants.
Jersey Mike’s president Hoyt Jones told QSR in May that Jersey Mike’s was targeting 2,000 restaurants by 2020 and signed deals to debut 160 in 2018, with 60 percent of that growth coming from within its current system. Jersey Mike’s also achieved a 6 percent same-store sales increase this past year and has reported 18 consecutive quarters of positive growth.
Check out the new spots below:
