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Subway puts Will Arnett inside America’s head for ‘Feed Your SUBconscious’ campaign
Key Takeaways
Subway has launched Feed Your SUBconscious, a new US brand platform starring actor and comedian Will Arnett.
Arnett plays five different inner voices encouraging people to reconsider disappointing, expensive or inconvenient food choices.
The opening 60-second film contrasts Subway with greasy fast food, expensive bowls and meals that leave customers unsatisfied.
The platform will continue across broadcast and streaming television, audio, digital, social media, restaurants and Subway’s own channels.
The voice in your head, questioning why you have just paid too much for a disappointing lunch, now sounds remarkably like Will Arnett (I mean, I'm not complaining, unless he sounds like Gob). Subway has recruited the actor and comedian to become America’s inner voice for Feed Your SUBconscious, a new brand platform encouraging diners to stop settling for meals that are overpriced, inconvenient or likely to leave them hungry again shortly afterwards. Arnett does not appear as one spokesperson delivering the same message each time, but he actually transforms into five characters who interrupt different food decisions and steer people towards a made-to-order Subway instead.
Will Arnett plays five versions of America’s food-ordering conscience
The campaign opens with a 60-second film following people as they consider the alternatives surrounding a typical lunch decision, from greasy fast food and disappointing burger buns to expensive bowls and smoothies that do not feel substantial enough to justify the price. Each moment introduces another version of Arnett as the character’s SUBconscious, with his familiar voice delivering the slightly blunt advice they may already be thinking. Throughout the film, he becomes a cowboy, cyclist and sauna-goer, adopting different personalities, giving Subway a format that can change according to the customer, craving or competitor being placed under examination. Behind the character work is a direct product message about freshly sliced meats, vegetables, bread baked daily and sandwiches prepared to each customer’s order. Subway is presenting that customisation, alongside lean-protein, vegetable-forward, and fibre-containing choices, as a more satisfying option that can still offer value.
Feed Your SUBconscious is intended to continue beyond the opening film, with Subway and Arnett introducing the characters across broadcast and streaming television, streaming audio, digital advertising, social media, restaurants and the brand’s owned channels.
Why Will Arnett gives Subway’s new brand platform a voice people will recognise
Will Arnett is a very good casting choise for this campaign as audiences already recognise the dry, authoritative voice he has brought to animated characters, comedy roles and advertising. The campaign can therefore introduce him as somebody’s internal monologue without spending time establishing why this slightly judgemental voice has appeared to question their lunch.
Subway Chief Marketing Officer Jeff Klein said the platform begins with an instinct consumers already have: they know when they are settling for food they do not really want and when a lunch choice is likely to become an afternoon regret. Giving that thought a recognisable voice allows the brand to challenge competitors while making the criticism feel like it came from the customer first.
The five-character structure also gives the platform room to grow. Different versions of Arnett can respond to price, convenience, portion size, ingredients or a particular craving without Subway having to rebuild the campaign around a new celebrity or creative idea each time.
Why The PR Insider loves it
We love that Subway has used Will Arnett for the quality people recognise most immediately: his voice. Turning him into the thought people have when an expensive lunch arrives looking thoroughly underwhelming makes the casting central to the idea, while the five characters give the campaign enough flexibility to become a proper platform rather than one advert built around a familiar face.
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