Fan campaigns have saved several shows from cancellation, including NBC’s spy comedy series “Chuck.” For this mission, though, the show’s base rallied around fast-food brand Subway to join them in the fight to ensure Chuck (Zachary Levi), Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski), and Casey (Adam Baldwin) could continue their missions to take down The Ring and other villainous organizations.
As documented by NPR, “Chuck” faced the axe due to low ratings ahead of Season 3. Rather than plead with the network to keep it going, however, fans promised customer loyalty to the sandwich brand in exchange for financially supporting the series. Levi also got involved in the fun by visiting a Subway with a group of fans and treating himself to a footlong.
The fan campaign prompted Subway’s higher-ups to approach NBC’s executives about sponsoring “Chuck” and figuring out creative ways to market their products to the show’s audience. The rest is, as they say, history. After NBC renewed the show, Subway products began regularly appearing in episodes until fans bid farewell to “Chuck” following Season 5. With that in mind, how did Subway’s tasty sandwiches inform the storytelling?
Chuck had fun with its Subway product placement
“Chuck” lent itself well to Subway product placement before it became a required technique for survival. Season 1 effectively establishes that Big Mike (Mark Christopher) — the manager of the Buy More store where Chuck works — is a foodie. Many of the scenes involving Subway sandwiches center around Mike tucking into into some footlongs, or speaking about them enthusiastically.
Jeff (Scott Krinsky) and Lester (Vik Sahay) are also Subway enthusiasts on “Chuck,” and treating them to a sandwich is the perfect way to get them to agree to do something. In Season 3’s “Chuck vs. the Final Exam” episode, they have Casey eat a tuna and pepperoni sandwich as his penance for aggressively bashing their heads together. Later on in the same episode, Big Mike tells Casey that “Subway can soothe the tummy and the soul.” These scenes are prime examples of “Chuck” using product placement to wink at the audience, naturally integrating Subway into the show’s storylines.
If you’re looking for more spy shows to add to your watchlist, you can’t go wrong with “Chuck.” Just don’t be surprised if you find yourself craving a classic B.M.T. afterward.