Dive Brief:
- Jersey Mike’s is marking its second year of partnership with the NFL with a new brand platform, according to details shared with Marketing Dive. The chain bills the effort as its most integrated campaign to date.
- “Game Day Mike’s Way” is an extension of an “Eli vs. Danny” campaign that debuted last year and features actor Danny DeVito and NFL icon Eli Manning as rivals. The campaign will span TV, online video, social and display channels as well as influencer tie-ups and limited-edition products.
- The campaign arrives following Jersey Mike’s debut on the New York Stock Exchange in July. During the chain’s first earnings call, CEO Charlie Morrison said digital marketing investments have increased from less than 1% to over 20% of total marketing spending in the first half of the year.
Dive Insight:
Jersey Mike’s is reigniting the fictitious rivalry between DeVito and Manning for the second year of its partnership with the NFL. The brand became the official sub sandwich sponsor of the NFL in March 2025. The “Game Day Mike’s Way” campaign, which combines humor with value-oriented messaging, also arrives as the brand expands its digital marketing efforts.
At the center of the campaign is a biopic-style spot, “Stacked and Jacked: The Danny DeVito Story,” directed by Eric Appel. In the video, one of DeVito’s arms becomes incredibly muscular from lifting and eating Jersey Mike’s subs. DeVito is then recruited to the NFL as a quarterback, quickly becoming the greatest of all time, much to the chagrin of Manning. The premise is a flip of last year’s campaign, where DeVito gets angry with Manning for encroaching on his job as Jersey Mike’s spokesperson. Like the previous campaign, “Game Day Mike’s Way” was created in partnership with agency of record Highdive.
The increased focus on digital spending comes as the brand seeks to engage Gen Z consumers in order to increase awareness and brand usage, Morrison said on Jersey Mike’s inaugural earnings call.
“The brand really did not engage in any form of digital marketing, especially that which would be a call-to-action messaging strategy utilizing social media and other tactics that we would take, prior to 2026. So when we made this adjustment to start spending more in the digital space, we've seen really positive results associated with that,” the executive said.
Jersey Mike’s posted a Q2 2026 revenue of $208 million, a 10% year over year increase, and digital sales mix grew from 41% to 43% over the same period, according to an earnings release.
The chain is also looking to build out its digital infrastructure in order to utilize its troves of first-party data, which it believes will be a growth driver in the future. Nearly a fifth of Jersey Mike’s sales comes from delivery, but only 3% of that is from first-party delivery, per Morrison, giving the brand an opportunity to grow its first-party data.
