Subway: Savior of tv-shows?

In recent years it has become difficult to watch television without seeing a certain brand pop up somewhere. Product placement is a much used marketing technique since the ‘90s, and television functions as a perfect medium for it. Not only because every new episode provides new possibilities for product placement, but also because television shows are practically always looking for ways to expand their limited production budgets. But some companies go further than a mere casual shot of their product. They get incorporated into the show itself.

The brand that is most notable for this kind of advertising is Subway. The restaurant franchise was a pretty big sponsor of the beloved but criminally low-rated series Chuck, so their sandwiches appeared frequently, as you might expect. What’s more unusual is that the Subway slogan was actually mentioned by the characters. This is a pretty big commitment on the part of the Chuck production team, since too obvious product placement might alienate viewers. In this case however, it proved to be hugely successful, for Subway as well as Chuck.

See, when viewer ratings dropped during Chuck’s second season, the fans were worried (and rightly so) that the show might get the boot. This prompted multiple social media campaigns to “Save Chuck”, one of which was focused on the show’s biggest sponsor: Subway. The plan was for every Chuck-fan to buy a foot-long sandwich from Subway on the date of the season 2 finale, April 27 2009. The lead actor of the series, Zachary Levi (aka Chuck himself), even got involved, providing the campaign with an extra boost. 

And luckily it was successful! Tony Pace, Subway’s marketing officer, has reportedly named Chuck as the best product placement they had done “in several years”. Subway subsequently raised its ad spending on NBC advertising from $22 million to approximately $34,4 million. And happy advertisers mean a happy network, a network that ultimately gave Chuck three more extra seasons. During the last episode of the series, Chuck returned the favor once again, with Subway taking over an entire wing of the show’s fictional store the ‘Buy-More’. 

Now that Chuck has ended, Subway seems to have found a new show to try this tactic on. A show as beloved and low-rated as its predecessor, with an even more enthusiastic fanbase: Community. In the latest episode (which we wrote about) Subway sets up a sandwich shop on the Greendale Community College campus, much to the discontent of some of the characters (a funny contrast to the way it was presented in Chuck). 

Subway keeps on going with their ‘in your face’-type of product placement. Do you agree with their tactics, or do maybe find it off putting in regard to the show or the brand? You can leave your opinions in the comment section below.