Production
Mr. Submarine
“50 Commercials for 50 Years”
Agency: Can you shoot 50 commercials in two days?
BMP: Umm… probably.
agency:
quality meats creative
director:
brad morris
The Spots
Case Study: Mr. Submarine — 50 Years, 50 Commercials
Chicago has known Mr. Submarine for half a century, along with its delightfully cheesy TV spots and an ’80s jingle that’s been stuck in the city’s head ever since. To mark the chain’s 50th birthday, Quality Meats Creative set out to make one commercial for every year, with that jingle landing the gag in every single one.
The BMP Film Co. produced the campaign as Sandwiches, Quality Meats Creative’s in-house production company. Yes, a production company called Sandwiches made 50 commercials for a sandwich shop. Some jobs are just meant to be.
The Ask
Fifty finished spots, two days on set, and a budget built for a fraction of that. On paper, it didn’t add up. So we built the whole production around speed: tight scripts, quick resets, and a crew ready to move the second a take landed.
On Set
Turned a working Mr. Submarine location into our studio and knocked out 40+ spots over two days
Teamed up with Second City, casting its performers under director Brad Morris, a Second City alum
Scheduled cameos from Chicago icons Tom Waddle, Ozzie Guillen, Jason Kipnis, Eddie Volkman, Richard Roeper, and Mark Giangreco
Rebuilt a few of Chicago’s most memorable low-budget local ads, bringing back some of the original faces
Filled out the lineup with AI-generated spots that embraced their glitchy, slightly-off charm
Cut versions for every screen: :30s and :15s for broadcast, all 50 for the website and social, plus out-of-home
What Happened Next
The spots took off before any paid media hit. The Chicago Tribune put the campaign on the front of its Business section, ABC, WGN, and WTTW covered it on air, and Mr. Submarine saw its strongest social performance ever, doubled its following, and drove more people through its doors. A neighborhood sub shop suddenly had a national audience.
Fifty commercials in forty-eight hours. We’d do it again, just maybe not tomorrow.
From the Director
“Two days and fifty spots with quality execution would’ve been impossible for most, but Ben Mahoney, our EP, CJ Richter, our line producer, and Chris Oswiany, our DP, are all logistical geniuses and share my attitude: ‘Of course we can do this.’ That, combined with the full support of Quality Meats and Mr. Submarine, made the insanity of the execution a dream.”