Subway Stands By Phelps

AdAge.com:

Subway has decided to stand by its man despite his bong antics, but the nation’s largest fast-food chain is likely to backburner its first TV campaign starring mega-endorser and Olympian Michael Phelps.

“Like most Americans, and like Michael Phelps himself, we were disappointed in his behavior,” Subway said in a statement. “Also like most Americans, we accept his apology. Moving forward, he remains in our plans.”

Executives close to the matter, however, say that the campaign, originally slated for early 2009, will be delayed. But according to a spokeswoman for the Subway Franchisee Advertising Fund Trust, “Our statement says nothing about creative and to our knowledge [SubwayFreshBuzz] has not changed,” a spokeswoman said.

The chain removed Mr. Phelps from its SubwayFreshBuzz website this afternoon. It now lists Ryan Howard, Chris Long and Reggie Bush as “Fresh Celebrities.” Mr. Phelps once topped the list. While a Google search turns up a Freshbuzz URL dedicated to Mr. Phelps, his name does not appear on the front end of the Freshbuzz site or in drop-down menus pointing to Freshbuzz’s other celebrity endorsers. Full article.

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