The Best Athletes in History Come Together to Draft the Best Sandwiches in Subway History into the New ‘Subway Series’

Subway’s biggest refresh yet continues with a new star-studded advertising campaign exploring how each sandwich earned a coveted spot in the all-star Subway Series roster

MILFORD, Conn. (July 12, 2022) – Starting today, Subway^® is launching its biggest advertising campaign yet to feature the best sandwiches in its history, the Subway^® Series. Subway’s culinary team applied its nearly six decades of sandwich skill and tested hundreds of recipes to create truly mouthwatering subs as candidates for the new Subway Series menu, and only 12 made the final roster. The new campaign reveals the backstory of this all-star sandwich lineup, and like all celebrated professional sports teams, that story of success begins with a draft.

The campaign features Charles Barkley – the voice of Subway’s Eat Fresh^® Refresh – who is now in front of the camera alongside Tony Romo in a special Subway Series draft telecast, providing lively, color commentary on the 12 sandwiches that earned the coveted spots in the new Subway Series roster.

Subway Classic

Each sandwich receives a full breakdown of their “stats” and in-depth crave analysis, featuring the signature flair and expertise of these two beloved sports legends and broadcasters. To match the Subway Series flavor power, Barkley and Romo are paired with a panel of fellow all-star athletes:

Seven-time medalist Simone Biles
Four-time NBA champion and two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry
Five-time Pro Bowler and four-time Super Bowl champion Rob Gronkowski
Fourteen-time MLB all-star and five-time World Series champion Derek Jeter
Five-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl champion Marshawn Lynch

The group will be featured together and separately across channels and formats, including broadcast and digital, which can be viewed HERE. This star-studded line-up of athletes and sandwiches reflect the next big step in Subway’s monumental transformation.

“The launch of the Subway Series is more than a continuation of our Eat Fresh Refresh campaign, it is the next big step in our transformation journey and positions Subway as THE sandwich destination for guests who are seeking a delicious, craveable and freshly prepared meal they can feel good about choosing,” said Carrie Walsh, Subway Global Chief Marketing Officer. “The Subway Series is proof that Subway is unafraid to reinvent itself in the pursuit of being the best, just like the athletes that are telling our story.”

The Subway Series campaign was developed and executed by an interagency team led by Dentsu Creative and Carat on media planning, United Entertainment Group (UEG) for all athlete partnerships and creative integration, and with additional activation support from FleishmanHillard, Tombras, Jack Morton, and Proof Advertising.

“Once we tasted these new sandwiches, we knew we were working with a roster of GOATs, and we were thrilled to bring this story to life with eight GOATs from the wide world of sports,” added Dentsu Executive Creative Director, Jason Stefanik.

The Subway Series was unveiled on July 5 and is available nationwide. The new sandwiches are simply ordered by name or number and let guests stand back and relax as Subway’s Sandwich Artists take care of the rest. The Subway Series release marks the biggest menu and ordering experience change in Subway’s nearly 60-year history and continues the brand’s Eat Fresh^® Refresh transformation journey, which began last summer with more than 20 new and refreshed ingredients.

For more information on the Subway Series, visit https://newsroom.subway.com/.

About Subway^® Restaurants
As one of the world's largest quick service restaurant brands, Subway serves freshly made-to-order sandwiches, wraps, salads and bowls to millions of guests, across more than 100 countries in more than 37,000 restaurants every day. Subway restaurants are owned and operated by Subway^® franchisees – a network that includes more than 20,000 dedicated entrepreneurs and small business owners – who are committed to delivering the best guest experience possible in their local communities.