After Jared fiasco, sandwich chain hires Coke's ex-chief marketing & commercial officer
Subway hopes to revamp its tarnished image by hiring former Coca-Cola executive Joseph Tripodi as its new chief marketing officer.
Tripodi is joining the sandwich chain at a tough time for the brand. Last month, Subway's longtime spokesman Jared Fogle was sentenced to 15 years in prison for trading child pornography and paying for sex with underage girls. Fogle began appearing in Subway commercials in 2000, touting his dramatic weight loss by eating the chain's sandwiches.
Subway's previous chief marketing officer, Tony Pace, left in July to start a marketing consultancy, nearly two weeks after Fogle's home was raided by authorities.
Tripodi retired from Coca-Cola Co. in February after the 60-year-old spent more than seven years as the soda company's chief marketing and commercial officer. He has also worked at alcohol maker Seagram and payments company MasterCard.
Subway, which has more than 44,000 worldwide restaurants, is a privately held company and doesn't publicly report its sales. But market researcher Technomic, which tracks the food industry, said that average 2014 sales at U.S. Subway locations fell 3 percent from the year before.
Recently, the company began tinkering with its food as Americans become pickier about what they eat. Subway said in October it would transition to meat raised without antibiotics and earlier in the year it said it would drop artificial ingredients.
“Heretic” and “Maria” Set As Red Carpet Premieres At AFI Fest
The American Film Institute (AFI) has announced that Heretic, the psychological thriller starring Hugh Grant, and Maria, based on the life of opera singer Maria Callas starring Angelina Jolie, will round out the Red Carpet Premieres section at this year’s AFI Fest. The Heretic Gala Screening will take place on Thursday, October 24, and the Maria Gala Screening will be held on Saturday, October 26. The complete Red Carpet Premieres section includes the world premieres of Music By John Williams, Robert Zemeckis’ Here, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl and Clint Eastwood’s Juror #2. All Red Carpet Premieres will take place at the historic TCL Chinese Theatre. The full lineup for AFI Fest 2024 will be unveiled on October 1.
“At the heart of AFI Fest is an unwavering dedication to celebrating the best in global cinema--together,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI president and CEO. “We look forward to uniting artists and audiences once again to be inspired by the art form in a powerful sense of community.”
Heretic follows two young missionaries (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) who are forced to prove their faith when they knock on the wrong door and are greeted by a diabolical Mr. Reed (portrayed by Grant), becoming ensnared in his deadly game of cat-and-mouse. The film is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods and produced by Stacey Sher, Beck, Woods, Julia Glausi and Jeanette Volturno. The film will be released nationwide by A24 on November 8.
Directed by Pablo Larraín, Maria presents a tumultuous and beautiful depiction of one of the world’s most renowned artists and reimagines the legendary soprano in her final days in Paris, as Callas (Jolie)... Read More