Jared makes Subway seem likable but not delicious, study says

The Subway ads featuring Jared, everyone’s favorite diet man, are making the brand popular with consumers, but not for the sandwiches. According to a new study by Technomic’s Consumer Brand Metrics, the sandwich chain is the most effective advertising brand in the restaurant industry.

The study — titled “Perceptions of Restaurant Advertising: Consumer Assessments of the Leading Chain Brands” — looked at three advertising attributes, including memorability, relatability and how hungry the advertising made consumers. Subway’s Jared Fogle, who has appeared in the chain’s ads for 15 years, helped earn Subway a relatability score of 75.1%.

A total of 78,743 adults were surveyed. Most restaurants that rated well regarding how hungry their advertisements made people didn’t do so well with memorability and relatability. Subway, however, rated well with both relatability and memorability, but had a score of only 69.4% on the hunger attribute.

“While endorsements from celebrities certainly play a role in Subway’s success, advertisements that feature the brand’s real-life spokesman Jared Fogle may also drive its high ratings on relatability and memorability,” the study says.

Fogle experienced a 40-pound weight gain in 2010, something that according to the study, could resonate with normal people struggling to stay on track with a healthy lifestyle.

Other restaurants that scored well in the study were Olive Garden, Sonic, Red Lobster, Popeyes, Chili’s, Applebee’s, Chick-Fil-A, Red Robin and Little Caesars.

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