After years of lockdowns and countless missed moments, the team at Above+Beyond knew they had to make a major splash for Subway’s summer campaign. Enter “Go Big Go Subway”—a playful, high-energy concept designed to coax fun-starved Gen Z out of their shells and into larger-than-life experiences, all fuelled by Subway’s customizable sandwiches.
In this interview, Senior Creatives Tim van der Mee and Ash Prentice, along with Agency Producer Sophie Freeman, pull back the curtain on the brief that sparked an audacious idea, the production challenges that tested their mettle, and the collaborative magic that turned a limited budget into a visually striking, conversation-worthy campaign. Hop in for a deep dive on how Above+Beyond set the stage for a summer of all-out fun and flavour.
What was the brief?
After two years of being told to stay indoors, to not go to festivals or even just see friends, we wanted to find ways to help our fun starved audience of Gen Z’ers to go big this Summer.
How did the initial pitch/brainstorming phase go?
We knew the idea was going to be around encouraging our audience to go big, but we didn’t know how. We landed on the idea ‘Go Big Go Subway’ pretty early on but it took some time to determine what that meant. Is it that you go big because you eat Subway or Eat subway when you go big?
What was the process behind ideating the concept?
We had the basics of the campaign but within each one we always try to have 1 or 2 peaks that will be newsworthy. It might be an activation or PR idea, but essentially something that people will talk about and share.
What was the production process like?
Time wasn’t actually much of a problem on this job, but money was. So, we had to be smart about where we used it. Dippin’ Sauce (the vfx agency) put so many hours in to make this amazing and we’re really grateful to them.
What was the biggest challenge during production? How did you overcome it?
Probably making the food look realistic. These Subs are like masterpieces so we’ve had to really take the time to make them look as delicious as possible.
What kit/tools/software were used to create the project?
Some brilliant 3D designers and food specialists. Cinema 4D and After effects for the 3D billboard and Premier for the video.
What is one funny or notable thing that happened during production?
Ash forgot to credit Sophie the producer who worked tirelessly to get it made...facepalm. We loved watching a group of lads build their own subs on screen, see them get delivered and eat them right there and then under thard.
What’s the main message of this project and why does it matter?
After the last couple of years we’ve had, we wanted this year to be all about going big and at Subway, you can. And we wanted to show that our Subs are freshly made and totally customisable.
How long did it take from inception to delivery?
4 months.
What do you hope it achieves for the brand?
This is just the start, but we hope Subway can start fighting with the big boys of Burger King, McDonalds and KFC in the UK.
Credit list for the work?
CREATIVE AGENCY: Above+Beyond
CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER: Dom Goldman
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Shez Lord
ART DIRECTOR: Tim Van Der Mee
COPYWRITER: Ash Prentice
HEAD OF DESIGN: Andy Breese
BUSINESS DIRECTOR: Alex Augustyn
AGENCY PRODUCER: Sophie Freeman
DIRECTOR/ PRODUCTION CO: Dippin Sauce
PRODUCTION: DOOH.com
OUT OF HOME SPECIALIST: Kinetic
MEDIA AGENCY: MediaCom