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How 'bout a burger, baby?
If you watch the local TV at all, you've probably been re-exposed (and possibly totally creeped out) to this vintage Subway ad - several times. Is it really time to start pining for the 90s? I mean, I know we're in the second half of the decade and all, but I still haven't gotten out of my "Hey, remember the 80s" phase.
45 Reader Comments
My theory is that coincidentally everybody in that ad is dead, and Subway realized it could run the ad without paying anybody residuals.
Anyone else notice how that song really sounds, at its heart, like a country song? I mean the bass line, the rhythm...no amount of faux-glam could cover that up in my ears.
They need to bring back this commercial:
Max - I got the harmonica skillz. We could bring that commercial to the streets!
I play a mean ukulele.
I'm with C Finn on this one!
I survived the 80's one time already,
And I don't recall them all that fondly.
My friends and I have an ongoing debate about this Subway ad: is that a young Parker Posey on the right of the conveyer belt?
Both Parker Posey and Ione Skye are rumored to be in that commercial according to several comments on a couple of relatively recent postings on my blog.
What kills me is somebody actually sat in a meeting and said, "Remember that commercial from 15 years ago with the chick with the makeup blasted onto her face with a cannon? You know, the one that looked dated even when it first aired and looks like it was dubbed from a VHS tape? We totally should put that back on the air in the 2k6, yo!"
Not only that, but multiple people AGREED with that idea!!! It passed through multiple layers of discussion and debate and ended up on the air in 2006. The whole concept makes my head spin and my ass tired.
lol.
Pure F'in Marketing Genius.
The second I heard the first few notes of the radio version of the jingle (they brought the audio back, too) it was stuck in my mind... just like it was 15 years ago.
You can't buy that kind of instant recognition.
Evil genius, meybbe. that jingle sux ballz
It's an earworm.
An Earworm!
I've wondered myself whether this is marketing ignorance or genius. Is this an act of some naive local franchise owner who say it as a cheap way to get tv ad time? Or is this a calculated move to illicit the exact type of discussion we're having here. Hell, it's here and on several other blogs and forums. People are talking about it and talking about Subway. I have to say that amidst all the talk about Subway the last few weeks, I've actually found myself having cravings for one of their sandwiches.
Bastards.
I refuse to eat at Subway til they bring the Wrapping Tortilla Lady Ad back!
Nothing like a blond dancing with a tortilla to get my sub juices flowing.
Quote:
wtfmn wrote: "Is this an act of some naive local franchise owner who say it as a cheap way to get tv ad time?"
I believe so.
We have a photographer here who at least once a day exclaims, "How 'bout a burger baby?" Then we go get a burger. Not a sandwich.
I used to have a crush on the hat girls. When I was, like, twelve.
"Don't want my dinner from a big machiiiiine!"
How 'bout a falafel, baby? Maybe a nice cucumber salad? Do you like my mohawk? I got it at Fantastic Sam's.
One thing that's just about universal is the awfulness of Subway commercials. I just about lost it when the first "It's OK, I ate Subway for lunch" spot aired. Then Jared came back, and it's just getting worse. I agree that the "Wrap it up" girl needs to make a return (I understand she's a friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend of mine), as does the anthropomorphic chorus singing about the Buffalo Chicken sub to the tune of Buffalo Gals.
That's definitely Ione Skye on the right. Where's Lloyd Dobler?
Whatever makes a comeback, they'll all be far more tolerable than those Quizno's commercials with creepy, spongy little rat/hamster/rodent things singing. *shudders*
The Sponge Monkeys? They kick ass!
Auuguguggghhhhhhh! Sponge Monkeys make me cry!
Bring back Suzanne Somers!
"Ace is the place with the helpful hardware man"
All Roxie Hart to an old guy in overalls
>>> I just about lost it when the first "It's OK, I ate Subway for lunch" spot aired.<<
And that was FALLON -- award winning, local, usually-at-least-inspired Fallon -- behind that spot. Yikes.
When you see a company where the ads are consistantly bad over a period of many, many years -- see also: Hardees, remember the "Stars mean quality" spots? -- what you're really seeing is a NIGHTMARE CLIENT. There's no way someone like Subway could make their way through probably countless agencies without even a single decent spot without having some pretty severe moronism somewhere high-up in management making the marketing decisions!
(Taco Bell: another offender. Their spots from the last year or two seem to have been made by an earnest yet mostly incompetent junior theater group!)
Is Jared getting fat? Is that why they brought back this commercial? He's probably in an undisclosed location getting the fat sucked out of his ass. Let's not forget the most disturbing aspect of this commercial: dancing street mimes!
And to think of the good work they could have done by hiring midget clowns.
We have a photographer here who at least once a day exclaims, "How 'bout a burger baby?" Then we go get a burger. Not a sandwich.
Ha! That's hilarious. Now that I think of it, that line has been part of my phraseology for years, actually. It's up there with, "I'm not a chicken, you're a turkey." When anyone says that, everyone just knows. Then they get burgers.
I used to have a crush on the hat girls. When I was, like, twelve.
The Parker Posey hat girl is totally hotter than the other one. In fact, I have no idea what the other one looks like. If they had Posey girl instead of early-90s ZZTop-brand girl in the spotlight, I'd probably eat Subway more often.
of course this commercial blows. subway knew you would hate it.
but could they ever predict the impact? not in their wildest dreams. everyone is talking about this horror.
sure, it was cheap to rerun it, but it's even cheaper when all the free word of mouth is figured in
Just wondering if anyone recognizes the guy playing the harmonica and doing the singing in the Rice Krispies commercial. Other than max, of course.
I met Jared at a benefit a few years ago. I asked him if he ever thought of licencing a low-fat sandwich with Subway called "The Jared".
He gave me the same deer-in-the-headlights look that he's had in every commercial.
I'm know that he's cashed in...but, dude, keep the gate open .
"I don't want no burger"
I gotta put a record on. Thats gonna stick in my head way too long.
Bring back the NOID.
I'm sure it was a hell of a lot cheaper to re-run that than do this.
I just don't know how we're expected to return to the '80's without CFCs in hairspray.
since i'm an east coast girl, i never saw it before i moved here. i loathe that commercial!! but i have a hard time believing it was made in the early '90s. i wore the same outfits as those chicks at the end, but in 1986. it's got a mid 80s feel more than an early 90s feel. that's just my opinion.
oh my god, that go-gos remix/video is terrible. i still like the Fun Boy Three version of the song the best, anyway.
wow! i first saw this commercial and thought it was a mistake. like they did bring back one froms the eighties! not impressed at all!
My wife also swears that's Ione Skye. I'm not buying it.
Down with the clown today!
i wonder if she was going by ione leach at the time.
Weird. We were just talking about that.
frankly, i find parker posey a lot more possible than donovan filles. if 'say anything' came out in '89 and we're talking early '90s, there's no way she's going from diane court to burger conveyor belt operator.
Hey, they rise fast, they fall hard in Hollywood.
wtfmn and Jables are right about the franchise issue. Subway and its franchisees are currently in a big old fight over their advertising $ and how to spend it. It looks to me like the local franchisees took matters into their own hands. The ads are getting noticed, but obviously not in a good way. Not that corporate's creative has been any good lately (or ever).
I love this commercial. It takes me back to the mid 80's. The main gal reminds me of my girlfriend from the same era. And the "big machine" girls are just plain funny. The whole thing makes me laugh every time I see it. I think more outdated commercials should be brought back.
It's not Parker Posey. It originally ran in 1985 nationawide, brought back in the early 90's. Our local paper has all the answers:
-------------------------------
Yes, you've seen this ad before
Bringing back decade of big hair, stiletto heels works for Subway
BY AMY CARLSON GUSTAFSON
Pioneer Press
While Subway is known for the slogan "Eat Fresh," one of the fast-food chain's TV commercials is a bit stale.
You've probably seen it: A guy with a Mohawk tries to tempt a woman sporting ratted hair and tons of makeup with a burger. "I don't want no burger," she sings as clowns fall down in the background. "I don't want no greasy chicken," she announces a few seconds later after giving a stiletto-heeled kick to a KFC-inspired bucket. Then, a couple of teenage girls share a shot with a nasty looking conveyor belt full of burgers.
When the 29-second spot began airing in April, folks took notice. Bloggers began to inquire about the dated commercial. One woman went so far as to post a letter she wrote to Subway in which she offered to buy more subs if they would pull the "garish" commercial. Rumors even started that one of the teen girls in the ad was a young Parker Posey.
"It works," says Eric Loeffler, vice president of marketing communications and creative services at Nemer Fieger, the locally based ad agency that worked with regional Subway franchises to revive the commercial.
Loeffler claims Subway sales have increased, but that's as much sales information as he'll share. He also says that the spot is airing in parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa and that the commercial originally aired nationwide in 1985 and later again in the early '90s. Its ending, when a Valley Girl-tinged voice announces a foot-long sub deal, is actually new but made to look and sound like the '80s.
John Rash, senior vice president, director of broadcast negotiations at Campbell Mithun Advertising in Minneapolis, says that most of the time when old commercials are brought back to life, it's because of a familiar jingle or phrase (think: Pop, pop, fizz, fizz). In the case of the Subway commercial, Rash says it's more about the era.
"What's most compelling about this spot coming back is that it's more evocative of an era than it is of a specific spot," says Rash. "It's a clever device to get increased viewing, particularly with the younger demographic who are harder to find in television."
Loeffler won't say how long the commercial will continue to run, but he's pretty happy with the buzz both good and bad it has generated.
"If people are talking about it, and it works mission accomplished," he says.
As for those Parker Posey rumors?
"She is not in this commercial," her manager, Frank Frattaroli, wrote via e-mail Thursday.
Amy Carlson Gustafson can be reached at agustafson@pioneer press.com or 651-228-5561.
Who plays the guy with the mohawk? I had a crush on him when I was like 10.
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