PHOTOS: Zac’s Busy Weekend
June 2, 2009 by Mel
Filed under Lead Story, Pics, Zachary Levi
Zachary Levi has had a busy few days. He attended a special press day for Land of the Lost/Subway on Thursday; supported friend Anna Friel at the Land of the Lost premiere on Saturday; showed up at the MTV Movie Awards on Sunday; and hosted the DJ Hero launch party at Wiltern on Monday. Mr. Popularity! Check out photos from all of these events in the Gallery.
Zachary Levi and Michael Strahan attend the Subway/Land of the Lost Day
Subway Execs Say Chuck Best Product Placement In Years
Joe over at TV Week has some inside scoop on what Subway thinks about the response their Chuck campaign is receiving:
Wanna save “Chuck”? If you’ve got five bucks, and aren’t averse to processed deli meats, you might just be able to help.
In fact, Subway-loving fans of NBC’s Monday night dramedy already may have done their part to keep the show on the air.
A few weeks ago, “Chuck” featured a pretty prominent product placement for Subway. We’re talking characters lovingly caressing a footlong sub, with one even mentioning the company’s “$5 footlongs” slogan in a scene.
Unlike Tina Fey’s casual mention of McDonald’s McFlurry on “30 Rock” last year, the Subway love in “Chuck” was paid for. It generated plenty of attention on Madison Avenue, including a glowing writeup in AdAge.
Subway marketing officer Tony Pace told the magazine it was happy with the arrangement. But TVMoJoe has learned that “happy” may have been an understatement.
According to two people familar with the situation, Subway’s internal tracking of the “Chuck” promotion was off the charts. One source labeled it the best such product placement the restaurant chain has done “in several years.”
And here’s the kicker: Pace was so impressed with “Chuck’s” impact on sandwich sales, he actually called a top NBC ad sales executive to let him know just how much Subway loved the Chuckster. What’s more, Pace told NBC the company hoped the network decided to renew “Chuck” for another season.
An NBC source confirmed to TVWeek’s Jon Lafayette that the call took place. Just what impact the conversation may have on NBC’s decision remains to be seen. As big as Subway is, it’s only one advertiser.
But that’s not stopping “Chuck” lovers from attempting one last-ditch effort to demonstrate that the show’s level of audience engagement—one of the hot buzzwords in TV circles these days—is off the chart.
As TVWeek reported earlier this month, a Twitter- and blog-based campaign has been brewing for weeks to convince “Chuck” fans to buy $5 footlongs today, the night of the show’s season finale.
Unlike past Save Our Show stunts—my mom still has a box of “Jericho” peanuts sent to me by desperate fans—the “Chuck” effort is rooted in practicality. Networks get annoyed when their mailrooms are flooded with things they don’t need. Happy advertisers, however, are always welcome.
The footlong plan is even generating support from TV critics. Time’s James Poniewozik declared last week that he’ll hold his nose and buy a footlong tonight (though he didn’t promise to eat it). Ditto Entertainment Weekly Pop Watch blogger Whitney Pastorek, who’s planning on downing a cold cut combo.
Me? At the risk of more snarky e-mails from rival network executives questioning my journalistic cred (Yeah, I changed my Twitter avatar to a “Save Chuck” logo for a week—sue me!), I’ll be swinging by my friendly neighborhood Subway this evening as well. Turkey on wheat with extra lettuce and onions, salt and pepper and maybe some oregano.
Join Finale & A Footlong Monday! (Updated – New Video, Pics)
April 27, 2009 by Mel
Filed under Lead Story, News
Are you ready for the Chuck season finale? Here’s your finale Monday checklist:
- Tell friends, co-workers, strangers how amazing finale is going to be;
- Purchase Subway Footlong(s) to enjoy during the finale and fill out comment card (No comment box? Leave an electronic comment at Subway.com);
- Take picture of yourself at Subway and/or with your Footlong sub;
- Mail picture to mel@chucktv.net to be featured in the Gallery;
- Turn off phone so no one can interrupt the finale;
- Settle in and enjoy the show!
Check out this video by mirafemina of Zachary Levi and a few hundred Chuck fans at a Subway in Birmingham, UK, including footage of Wendy, the mastermind behind the Finale & a Footlong campaign.
Updated @11:20AM CT: Starfury sent over their own video from yesterday’s Subway march for us to share:
We also have photos to share of fans with their Subway Footlongs!
VIDEO: Zac (Plus 400 Fans) Go To Subway
April 26, 2009 by Mel
Filed under Appearances, Videos, Zachary Levi
Who else is supporting our Finale & a Footlong campaign? Zachary Levi! He and 400 fans from the T1 Starfury convention in England descended on a local Subway to order sandwiches and show their support for Chuck today. Here’s the first video:
