sexy sandwich

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LQpRQh2KSQ

Quizno's newly censored commercial introducing their new "toasty torpedo" pushes the limit on sexual innuendos for a sandwich advertisement. Quizno's has been known for its satirical tongue-in-cheek humor in it's commercials as a vehicle to promote a more long lasting memory of their product in the viewer, yet this advertisement seems a little extreme. Personifying a toaster oven as a sexual man/woman and referring to the sandwich and the cook as both tools of pleasure, it certainly creates a lasting impression.

This commercial sends a mixed message, one of both sexual attraction and of humor. Using sexual innuendos such as "put it in me scott" or "we both enjoyed that," Quizno's adds a sort of awkward sense of humor that if nothing else burns the product into the mind of the viewer. By giving the clear message that this sandwich is sexy, Quizno's makes such a ridiculous claim the audience can't help but laugh and remember the "toasty torpedo."

The oven and the chef, aka scott, both converse throughout the commercial. The toaster oven speaks with a deep, sexy voice and scott takes the role as the unsure and apparently easily convinced young man. Throughout the advertisement continuous sexual innuendos are thrown at the viewer, and we get the feeling that apparently the toaster and scott plan on having sexual relations involving a sandwich, and already have experimented: "scott, I want you to do something" "No way, I'm not doing that again. That burned." We both enjoyed that." Yet through both sexual dialogue and a classic pornography-style music, the watcher can't help but be interested by this off-the-wall ad.

Quizno's doesn't have much logic in this advertisement; for the most part it is sending the message that their new sandwich is sexy and if you have one you'll be eating something sexy, which isn't very strong persuasion. Yet perhaps it is the lack of logic that makes the commercial so alluring. By combining such opposites as sandwiches and sex and displaying them both through awkward conversation between an inanimate object and a chef, Quizno's certainly lacks logic, but nothing is more memorable than something that perplexes, and this commercial certainly perturbs the watcher. So, by creating such an odd mix and therefore a memorable impression of their new product, perhaps Quizno's was being logical after all