Howdy, Marketer! 

If you’re a Millennial (like me) and watched TV as a kid (like I did wayyy too much of), then you undoubtedly saw the Quizno’s Spongmonkeys ads. 

It’s impossible to deny that these ads garnered attention – they’re insane. 

They’re like something an 8-yr old might come up with if told, “tell me about your dream last night.”

But it did what marketing is supposed to do: stand out and be remembered. 

However…umm how did this even happen? And was it actually successful?

Today's Treasure Trove

• What is Quiznos 

• Target Demographics and Positioning 

• The Spongmonkeys Campaign 

• Why This Campaign Happened 

• Other Campaigns by Quiznos

  • The “Toasty” Campaign:

  • Campaigns Quiznos Could Run Next 

• Wrap Up 

What is Quiznos 

Some stats: 

Instagram: 19.6K followers

X (Twitter): 109.8K followers

Quiznos is a fast-casual restaurant chain specializing in toasted submarine sandwiches. 

At their peak around 2007, they had 4,700 locations and were Subway's most aggressive competitor.

Target Demographics and Positioning 

Quiznos positioned themselves as the premium alternative to Subway through its signature toasting process. 

65% of their target audience is adults aged 18-34, consisting majorly of busy professionals, college students, and people seeking fast yet healthier options. 

Their secondary audiences include health-focused individuals aged 35-54 and families seeking nutritious, quick-service meals in urban and suburban locations.

The Spongmonkeys Campaign 

The Quiznos Spongmonkeys campaign is either a brilliant creative breakthrough or a cautionary tale about losing touch with your audience. Social media wasn't really a thing during their mascot heyday (this was pre-Instagram, early Facebook). But what they did have was unprecedented ad awareness.

The ads featured these rat-like creatures with bulging eyes, called Spongmonkeys, singing off-key about Quiznos subs. Seriously.

It almost feels something Michael Scott from The Office would make:

The animation style was deliberately crude, almost like an early internet meme. 

Quiznos found these characters on a website called RatherGood.com, where British animator Joel Veitch had created absurdist content featuring these singing creatures.  Quiznos wanted to put this on national television during prime time.

What happened was unprecedented awareness and equally unprecedented revulsion. 

People talked about them almost with horrified fascination. The campaign generated massive buzz, water cooler conversations, and millions of dollars worth of free media coverage. By traditional awareness metrics, this was a home run.

But Quiznos greenlit something that wasn't tested and wasn't designed to make anyone feel good about eating their product. 

This was marketing as shock art. 

The theory, such as it was, seemed to be that any attention is good attention, and standing out in a cluttered market justifies the risk of being off-putting.

The disconnect between the bizarre, unsettling creative and the actual product experience was massive. When you're asking someone to put food in their mouth, associating your brand with creatures that look like diseased rodents is a questionable choice at best.

Why This Campaign Happened 

Quiznos wanted to differentiate from Subway, and desperate companies often make bold bets. 

Though the ad was a breakthrough, without strategic alignment, it risks becoming noise. 

The Spongmonkeys had nothing to do with toasted subs, quality ingredients, or premium positioning. They were random internet weirdness transplanted onto a brand that needed to convince people their sandwiches were worth more than the competition.

The real failure wasn't that the ads were weird. 

Weird can work. 

Old Spice went weird with their “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” campaign and it revolutionized their brand. Skittles has built an entire strategy on surreal advertising since their “Taste the Rainbow” campaign. 

But those campaigns maintained a clear connection to the brand's positioning and values, even while being absurd. 

The objective should have been to convince more people that Quiznos is worth choosing over Subway. 

Did these ads do that? Though there was viral buzz, it failed to suggest product superiority. 

Other Campaigns by Quiznos

The Return of Songmonkeys: 

In July 2023, Quiznos made a bold move by bringing back its polarizing but unforgettable Spongmonkeys mascots as part of its brand comeback strategy. 

The company launched a digital and social media campaign that featured the furry creatures on a nostalgic road trip across America, searching for Quiznos locations and celebrating the brand's loyal fanbase.

The campaign tapped into early 2000s nostalgia and sparked plenty of memes and social media buzz. It received a love-it-or-hate-it reaction. Still, the divisive mascots generated the kind of memorable engagement the brand needed. 

While the campaign continues to appear occasionally on Instagram, majorly through mascot features, it seems like the revival served primarily as a short-term nostalgia play to reignite consumer interest and remind people that Quiznos is still in the game.

The “Toasty” Campaign:

Quiznos launched the simple but powerful "Toasty" campaign prominently in early 2000s to showcase what made them different: oven-toasted subs that were warm, melty, and packed with flavor. 

TV, radio, and print ads featured mouthwatering visuals of steaming sandwiches loaded with premium meats and fresh ingredients, positioning Quiznos as the superior choice. The commercials also claimed more meat and edgy product launches like the Toasty Torpedoes. 

This fueled Quiznos' explosive growth, cementing strong brand recognition around freshness and that signature warm crunch. 

While later campaigns like the controversial Spongmonkeys grabbed headlines and the brand eventually faced franchise challenges, the "Toasty" era is proof that sometimes the simplest message, delivered consistently and memorably, can transform a brand.

Campaigns Quiznos Could Run Next 

If Quiznos were to rebuild their marketing now, they'd need to completely reestablish what they stand for. 

The toasted sub positioning could still work, but it needs modern translation.

They could lean hard into the craft and quality narrative but make it tangible and specific. 

Not "better ingredients" in the abstract, but "this is our sourdough supplier in San Francisco, this is our pastrami process, this is why toasting matters for texture and flavor." 

Give people something real to grab onto.

They can also create a challenger brand mentality again, utilizing a position space. 

Subway still dominates the category, but they're vulnerable on quality perception. Quiznos could position itself as the anti-fast-food sub shop. Small batch. Local suppliers where possible. Made by actual sandwich makers, not assembly line workers. 

Wrap Up 

Risk isn't inherently good or bad in marketing. 

It's about whether the risk serves the strategy. 

Going viral for being weird is only valuable if that weirdness connects to your value proposition or reinforces your positioning. Otherwise, you're just spending money to confuse people.

Quiznos' real problems were operational - franchise relations, overexpansion, lease obligations that made profitability nearly impossible for franchisees. 

The Spongmonkeys didn't kill Quiznos. But they symbolize a company that lost its way and that confused shock value with strategic marketing.

The bottomline is - if your campaign is more famous than your product, and if people remember the ads but don't buy your stuff, the marketing has not worked.

✌️,

Tom from Marketer Gems [LinkedIn]