Subway Unveils New TV Spot Featuring Phelps
July 9th, 2009 by RickFive. Five dollar. Five dollar foot lonnng.
Michael Phelps is finally back on the endorsement trail, after being shunned by some of his sponsors and dropped by Kellogs, because of a picture that circulated the internet five months back that showed him toking on a bong. The company that picked up the slack? Subway.
With their sandwich shops soon to be visited by hungry stoners worldwide, the ad execs that came up with this commercial brilliantly targeted the demographic, while at the same time, having it appear as a regular commercial for those that lack the radar for pot innuendo.
Some of the subtle clues:
- So… any coincidence that the video feed freezes on a frame where MP looks like a stereotypical stoner?
- Maybe… the looping soundtrack playing in the background — Thank you for letting me be myself again.
- Or… what about the the vibrant, eye catching colors with encrusted shiny jewels?
- Kicking it… Jared watches goofy shit on TV… you know you do it too.
- Easily the most obvious clue was the URL of the Subway website advertised… nice.
- Perhaps the words phresh, phave, and phlavor are meant for the sub-culture circle?
- Or… the use of the phrase ‘The man behind the marinara.’ What did you see the first time reading it?
- The new logo says it all… way fresh indeed.
As Kellog’s stock went down after they canned Phelps’ contract, Subway only stands to profit from their new push into an old demographic that more than likely has been eating at their franchise since its grand opening. Now, the pot smokers will simply go out of their way to eat $5 foot long subs, letting Subway and Phelps rake in the green.
Athlete Suspensions Aplenty
May 12th, 2009 by Rick
In the wake of Michael Phelps being suspended for three months for an “incriminating” photo of him toking on a bong, several other athletes have been suspended or face being suspended in their respective sport.
NASCAR had a random drug test last weekend at Richmond International Raceway, in which NASCAR driver Jeremy Mayfield failed. Mayfield was suspended infinitely, which led to his disqualification from entering Saturday’s night Sprint Cup, held at the Darlington Speedway. Mayfield is also the first driver to be suspended under the improved substance abuse policy.
In Brussels, Belgium, the 2005 World Cycling Champion Tom Boonen, was suspended by his Quick Step team, after testing positive for cocaine. After winning the Paris-Roubaix classic earlier in April, he was tested weeks later on April 24th by Flanders regional government authorities. This is Boonen’s second time for testing positive for cocaine, the last time leading to his missing the Tour De France.
On Saturday, Boonen admitted he had a “problem”:
The night before the drug test, I went. I stayed for a while and I drank. At some stage I must have taken something. Then I had a blackout. [...] I think I have a problem. After spending three to four months working, when I go out I probably over-step the mark and I become someone else. [...] For 364 days a year, it’s perfect. I try to be an exemplary citizen. But the day that I drink too much, something that I don’t do often, I change. I will now seek help.
He’s human, like the rest of us… and recreationally taking cocaine is not like taking a performance enhancing drug. Boonen won’t face sporting sanctions because cocaine is not on the list of cycling’s banned substances for non-competing athletes. What I find amazing is the fact that it is a regional government conducting the drug tests, not the industry itself. Why would those that govern the sporting industry submit their athletes to local government sanctioned drug tests?
In the world of tennis, 22-year old Richard Gasquet tested positive for cocaine. Back in March he pulled out of the Miami Masters with a shoulder injury and the “A” sample test administered there showed traces of the banned drug. Gasquet can be banned for 2 years if the “B” sample comes back positive for cocaine.
Gasquet admitted on Sunday:
The test of the B sample submitted at the end of March 2009, confirmed the positive result of the A sample taken on the same day. [...] I want to prove my innocence and will explain myself at an appropriate time. Given the complexity of the case, I am gathering the evidence of my innocence and will later set a date to make further comments.
Gasquet submitted himself to an independent hair analysis test which showed no trace of cocaine. If this is true then that’s good for Gasquet because it shows he’s not a habitual user of the recreational drug. Again he’s human… taking a recreational drug is better than taking an illegal drug that enhances his ability to play tennis. Wait, come to think of it that would be pot for some people.
Tiger Woods was even tested twice this year under the PGA Tour’s anti-doping policy, with one of the times being when he wasn’t even playing, due to his knee surgery. They (of course) came back negative, the only thing that seems to get Tiger high is golf.
However there is hope for the suspended. After all Michael Phelps has recovered from his suspension, a time that left him apparently thinking about giving it up:
I literally just woke up on a Sunday and wanted to swim another four years. [...] I don’t know what it was but it switched on in my head. [...] During the break, I was up in the air about everything. The hardest thing was, I did everything I wanted to do. I was like, ‘Where do I go from here?’
Phelps said that he doesn’t plan to retire and will be in the Vancouver Olympics in 2010, competing in some new events looking to add to his already impressive gold medal collection. His first meet is in May at the UltraSwim in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Kellogg’s Gets Hit By Karma
February 25th, 2009 by Perry
Business Insider recently looked at how Kellogg’s has actually been hurt by dropping Phelps over the bong photo.
Based on the Vanno Company Reputation index, the article reports Kellogg’s used to be rated 9th in America, but since the photo and the company’s decision to drop Phelps as their marketing spokesman, the company has fallen to a shoddy 83rd.
Noting that peanut butter recalls have also played a role, the dramatic decline is shown above.
Joe Rogan Writes to Kellogg’s
February 18th, 2009 by Silvio
I think it’s safe to say that everybody with a television set and/or internet access is aware of the whole Michael Phelps and Kellogg’s fiasco.
What could be considered a moral scandal, turns slowly into a platform for all kinds of people supporting and defending Phelps’ actions, and criticizing not only his former sponsor, but question the very standards of the nation’s drug policy.
One very dedicated example for this is an open letter to Kellogg’s by Joe Rogan, posted on his website.
Click through to see Rogan’s entire letter to Kellogg’s after the jump.
Bill Maher’s $0.02 on Phelps
February 16th, 2009 by PerryUsually, Bill Maher is way too far out in left field for me to take seriously, but he really hits the point here. The real scandal here is that every single athlete, celebrity and famous personality “caught” being around marijuana is forced into a fake apology.
As Maher points out, who deserves a bong rip more than Phelps?
The Phelps Train Keeps Rolling
February 10th, 2009 by PerrySaturday Night Live really isn’t the comedy gold it used to be. Really.
Well, maybe the occasional digital short.
Still, every once in a while Seth Meyers brings the funny. Whether it’s calling Kelloggs out for its shameful exploitation of stoner ways (with delicious snack foods and cereals) or arrogantly tossing Phelps aside for garnering a few nasty letters from some people who live in Nebraska.
This whole mess has Phelps reportedly taking some time to consider whether or not he’ll compete in the Londin 2012 Olympics.
Way to go morals police, chastise one of the greatest athletes of the modern era from your Lay-Z-Boy of judgement.
Boycott Kellogg’s, Support Ronaldo
February 9th, 2009 by Perry
In the latest twist that is the Michael Phelps photo.
Ronaldo, a fallen Brazilian soccer star, recently came out in support of Phelps, although, I don’t know how much Ronaldo putting his name on the line helps these days. The Telegraph, a leading British paper, recently called the swimming star “disgraced” after the incident in an article referring to the support.
Disgraced? I wouldn’t go quite that far. I mean, if you look at from a bad PR standpoint, he could have done much worse, and Ronaldo knows this all too well (A Google search of the soccer star’s name and the word “transexuals” currently yields about 631,000 results, in case you don’t know what I’m talking about.)
Another bizarre twist includes a petition calling for a Kellogg’s boycott, because it recently announced it was dropping Phelps as an endorser. Getting stoners to vote is one thing, getting them to boycott junk food? Not likely. But it places the everyman stoner in a strange dichotomy. Marijuana users are a pretty large group that consume Kellogg’s branded “stoner food” (i.e. Pop Tarts, Rice Krispies, etc.) and to off a spokesperson that’s seen smoking weed seems a bit hypocritical. Talk about biting the hand that feeds you.
Even members of the law enforcement community have shown support for Phelps — talk about a mixed message.
Personally, I like Phelps on the Green Party ticket in ‘16.
Phelps Starts to Feel the Heat
February 6th, 2009 by Perry
14-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps is starting to receive negative backlash from the photo that recently surfaced of him smoking from a two-foot Roor.
A few days after sponsors like Omega and Speedo called the photo a “nonissue,” Phelps received a three-month ban by USA Swimming.
The ban means Phelps Phelps won’t be able to compete with, or receive funding from (like he needs it) the body that governs the nation’s swimming team. All this despite the fact that there was no doping violation (although smoking pot is against the rules, the photo wouldn’t stand up in court to the Chewbacca defense).
Apparently someone pissed in the Cheerios of the people at Kelloggs too, because they recently decided to “not renew” their contract with the athlete after some negative publicity. The contract ends in February.
Phelps recently responded to the photo in an interview with the Baltimore Sun, a paper nearby the Maryland native live, and described the incident as a 23-year-old making a youthful mistake.
I still can’t get over how he takes bong rips and then motivates himself to swim like a dolphin for hours — amazing.
No word yet on whether anyone from NORML has approached Phelps for sponsorship, but I can’t think of a spokesperson who could get medical marijuana passed in Maryland any faster. Could a DEA sponsoree sit there with a straight face and tell Michael Phelps he’s ruining his lungs?
