Subway Dissonance

Over the past few weeks, I’ve noticed some strange advertising choices for Subway. Subway over the past few years, primarily through Jared, have worked to differentiate themselves as a healthy alternative to traditional fast food. Beyond the sandwich having less fat (their qualified claim when there’s no cheese, oil, or mayo on your sub) than a Big Mac, Subway is now promoting ways to have a healthier meal – complimenting your sandwich with fruit and milk, rather than chips and soda. This makes sense to me. However, during the same television program I saw two Subway spots. The first one had Jared talking to little leaguers about Subways smart choice meals or fresh fit, or something like that – basically, “hey kids, don’t get fat, eat smart.” Less than twenty minutes later, Subway has another add that promotes a ginormous sandwich – so big they’re not sure how you’ll eat it. One is a steak and cheese sandwich – lots and lots of gooey, fat-laden cheese. This spot seems to say "you've given up on eating health, you’re happier when you’re full – chow down Sumo Sam!” The messaging creates a disconnect, even if the spots are hours apart, but minutes apart creates a fair amount of dissonance. So, I wonder what does Subway stand for? Their positioning doesn’t seem to ring true. Not only was a ball dropped on the creation of competing identities, another one was dropped by those doing the media buys and placement.