Six inches from perfection

I'll admit it, I'm a Subway guy. The resident sandwich-artist at the Subway across the street from my office knows my sandwhich and my schedule (if I come in on a Saturday, he'll comment). But this morning I came across a steamy foot-long short from Quizno's, and I couldn't help but re-post.

The first nine seconds of this video are a marketer's dream. The video is branded content, likely created by an in-house Playboy team to advertise Quizno's. There are tits, ass, and solid-coloured bikini's; all the Playboy staples. Then comes the product placement: girl number two enters with a matching bathing-suit-and-take-out Quizno's red combo.

Next, is the text. Finally, you get it. It's a pop-culture reference to that video everyone thought was gross, but watched twice, and then forwarded to all of their friends. It's a clever invasion of the social media space, and it's sure to spread across the blogosphere (a quick Google reveals it is already getting web-ink), but will it entice sub-eaters?

The video is funny, but the implications are less than appetizing. Associating a food brand with a poop-tease, and what we collectively agree was the grossest internet video of 2007? Yuck.

I'll take my toasted double d's at Subway, please. More cheese, less poop culture.

Update: According to AdAge (and a tip-off from Corey Allen) Quizno's had nothing to do with the production of this video, nor did it pay for it. Guess Playboy is shitting on Quizno's marketing plans on its own accord. Solid criticism by Allen, in the comments.