Russell Wilson's Subway Commercial

Submission 2,420

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About

Russell Wilson's Subway Commercial or Russell Wilson's "Dangerwich" Ad is a 2022 advertisement for Subway restaurants where American NFL quarterback Russell Wilson has a fake conversation with viewers in a POV style, asking if they want to share his spicy signature sandwich, the "Dangerwich," and then asking if they've done anything dangerous. The commercial was posted to TikTok in May 2022. In September, the ad became a viral subject of memes and criticism for being perceived as awkward and cringeworthy due to Wilson's delivery of the lines

Origin

On May 2nd, 2022, Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson posted an advertisement for Subway restaurants on TikTok^[1] (@dangerusswilson) advertising his signature sandwich, the "Dangerwich." In the video, Wilson has a fake conversation with viewers similar to how Dora the Explorer talks with the audience. He asks the viewer if they'd like to share a Dangerwich with him, then asks the viewer if they've ever done anything dangerous, pausing in between his lines as if someone is answering him. The video (shown below) garnered over 800,000 views in four months.

The ad was accompanied by several sponsored Duets from verified TikTokers to help spread it on the platform. In the videos, the TikTokers fill in the other end of the conversation with Russell (examples shown below).

Spread

On May 2nd, 2022, Twitter^[2] user @Lszark shared the video, writing, "I bet your QB doesn’t have a Subway sandwich." On September 27th, Twitter^[3] user @PFTcommenter, a character played by Barstool Sports' Eric Sollenberger, retweeted the post, writing, "He delivers this entire monologue like a serial killer whose calmly talking to someone he tied to a chair with their mouth taped shut," garnering over 18,900 likes and 1,500 retweets in three days. The tweet by @Lszark was deleted on an unknown date. On that day, @PFTcommenter posted another video to Twitter^[4] conversing with the ad, garnering over 28,000 likes in three days (shown below).

On September 29th, Barstool Sports' Dave Portnoy posted a video to Twitter^[5] where he has a conversation with the commercial, garnering over 7,100 likes in a day (shown below).

On the same day, TikToker^[6] @ghettogronk posted an edit where the ad plays over footage of the Joker from The Dark Knight, garnering over 100,000 views in a day (shown below, left). On the same day, TikToker^[7] @barstoolgambling posted a video reacting to the commercial as if kidnapped, garnering over 37,000 views in a day (shown below, right).

On September 30th, Twitter^[8] user @JoeyMulinaro shared Colin Cowherd's opinion on the commercial, garnering over 1,000 likes and 41,000 views in under a day (shown below). The video was reported on by numerous media outlets, including NBC Sports^[9] and For The Win.^[10]