It looks as though 2016 may be the year for reinvention.
Just as Whole Foods announced plans to bounce-back in the coming year, other companies who have been hit with PR nightmares in 2015 - this time, Subway - plan to do the same.
Their way to do this, starting with this new NFL ad campaign, can be viewed two ways: An homage to its late co-founder, Fred DeLuca, and/or an attempt to tear up the floor boards and start over, original intentions in tow.
The commercial asks you to forget today and remember what it was like before. Unfortunately, if the current end product doesn't live up to the hype, the campaign has the potential to backfire.
Subway lost DeLuca, an original founder of the company, in September of this year. But while the campaign can be perceived as an ode to his memory, critics of the ad fail to mention his passing, which might serve useful when placing it into context.
On the other side, the company experienced the backlash of a former spokesperson being arrested for unspeakable crimes, setting it up to face an uphill battle in the perception game of the public eye.
Although the ad can be viewed with skepticism, it's not bad from an objective standpoint. There are moments of humor and nostalgia, and moments where you can almost smell the fresh bread; "fresh" being the operative word. Simply put, the sandwich chain is asking its customers for a second chance. If you ask us, everyone deserves one.
On the bright side, while the company has experienced the slap of negative PR this year, its food hasn't suffered any public issues or claims, so it will be interesting to see how this will play out. You can view the new ad below.
