Tom ‘Bready’ is pitch perfect with his new Subway ad
TAMPA — It’s an ad, ad world.
And if you’re Tom Brady, you can pitch a heck of a lot more than footballs.
Brady isn’t just a seven-time Super Bowl champion quarterback at 44 who looks 34 and plays like he’s 24.
He’s also a popular brand that you want to attach your product to like the laces on a football.
His endorsement partners include Under Armour, Christopher Cloos eyewear, Upper Deck and IWC watches.
He has TB12, his own health, wellness and fitness company with facilities throughout the U.S.
How hot is Brady as a marketer?
His latest series of TV commercials is for a product, by all accounts, he no longer uses.
Subway is hawking its Eat Fresh Refresh menu and has enlisted the help of sports mega-stars such as Brady, Stephen Curry, Serena Williams, Megan Rapinoe and Charles Barkley.
In its “It’s too much for one spokesperson campaign,” Williams hands off to Rapinoe, who is interrupted by Brady. He is joined by Curry, who asks, “Do you even eat bread?”
“Steph, it’s a commercial,” says Brady, who generally follows a plant-based diet filled with fresh, seasonal and organic foods.
But in the latest TV spot, we are introduced to (Tom) Bready.
The black and white commercial begins with a well-groomed Brady, white collared shirt and suit jacket, standing next to what appears to be a cologne bottle in an apparent fragrance ad.
A sultry, whispering female voice begins to narrate.
“Seductive. Irresistible. And forbidden,” she says.
Then there is an aerosol spray that forms the name of the product.
Bready.
Brady removes the top of the bottle, revealing a loaf of Subway’s multigrain bread.
The Bucs quarterback removes the loaf.
“The new fragrance that says Subway has so much new, it didn’t fit in their last ad,” Brady says. “So they bought time in mine to talk about hearty, multi-grain bread.”
“Freshly baked,” whispers the narrator.
Brady places the loaf in his hands, lowers his nose and takes a giant whiff.
“Smells so good. I can almost taste it,” Brady says.
“But you don’t eat bread,” whispers the narrator as the ad ends.
Brady was asked Thursday about his, shall we say off-brand, endorsement.
“I mean, it’s a sandwich, so I’ve always felt that way,” Brady said. “I ate a lot of Subway in college. I kind of lived on Subway sandwiches in college. We used to have these little chit cards that we would … that coach would give them to us when we didn’t have training table.
“It was good when my buddies worked there, because we would get a little extra — extra meat on there and it was pretty cool. Kind of part of my past and part of my future.”
The new Cali Fresh steak sandwich has avocado, so that’s one item we know Brady likes. (It’s also 610 calories with 1190 mg of sodium).
“Hopefully, people like the advertisement,” Brady said. “I try to do as little as possible ... but we got something coming for you.”
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