SUBWAY

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A strategic exploration of how Subway’s Foot Long Cookie can be a catalyst for connection.

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Role: Strategy, Concept Development, Graphic Design
Brand: Subway
Partner: We’re Not Really Strangers
Audience: Gen Z 18-22 (college students & recent grads)
Channels: Product Integration, Out-of-Home, Social Media
Type: Spec Concept, Submission for Young Ones (The One Club for Creativity)

Following a successful 2024 debut, the Footlong Cookie generated buzz—but, buzz is temporary. Subway needs to extend the product’s cultural relevance beyond launch, and give Gen Z a reason to visit subway beyond sandwiches.

The opportunity wasn’t to make the cookie louder. It was to make it more meaningful.

Newly independent but financially cautious, Gen Z is navigating adulthood in real time. They are digitally immersed, socially influenced, and highly attuned to cultural moments.

They’re digitally hyper-connected—but often physically disengaged, craving deeper connection.

The audience
The challenge

CONNECTION

CRAVERS

aka…

The INSIGHT

In a hyper-digital world, Gen Z spends less time fully present with one another. Meanwhile, Subway’s Footlong Cookie is the perfect size to split.

Sharing is built into the product. What if the cookie became the catalyst for conversation?

human problem

Gen Z is more connected than ever, yet increasingly disconnected in person.

They crave comfort, nostalgia, and shared experiences, but meaningful connection rarely happens without intention. They need a reason to engage.

brand advantage

Subway uniquely owns the footlong format: oversized and inherently shareable, and playfully absurd and culturally recognizable.

Unlike single-serve desserts from competing brands, Subway’s cookie is structurally designed to be split. No other dessert demands two people the same way.

solution

Transform the Footlong Cookie from a novelty treat into a connection ritual.

*CRUMBVERSATIONS

Meet in the Middle.

A limited-edition partnership with We’re Not Really Strangers that transforms the Footlong Cookie into a playable, shareable conversation experience.

HOW IT CAME TO LIFE

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  • Each Footlong Cookie includes a redesigned tray and a limited-edition Subway x We’re Not Really Strangers card pack, transforming the dessert into a playable, collectible ritual. By embedding conversation into the packaging, Subway turns a novelty item into a meaningful shared experience.

    As a pair eats their way through the cookie, they’re invited to answer the prompts in the card pack, corresponding with the numbered tray.

  • Billboards in college towns and urban centers feature the campaign: a visual approach with the goal of capturing the public eye, reinforcing the campaign’s message of shared experience, and inviting Gen Z to split a Footlong Cookie with someone special.

  • Crumbversations unfolds on TikTok and Instagram through authentic, shareable moments of friends breaking the Footlong Cookie and answering conversation prompts. Designed to feel native and unscripted, the content encourages organic participation under #Crumbversations and positions the cookie as a catalyst for connection.

STRATEGIC SUCCESS METRICS

  • Own the “Shareable Dessert” space

  • Generate social engagement & UGC through #Crumbversations

  • Drive repeat visits through collectibility

  • Increased product longevity—sustain Footlong Cookie sales beyond launch spike

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