Subway Canada is combining two ballpark staples with SubDog, a new menu item designed to tap into the cultural pull of the Toronto Blue Jays.

Part sub, part hotdog, the SubDog’s launched is supported by the “Sup Dog” campaign developed by Dentsu Creative Canada. The 15-second spot follows Blue Jays fans meeting at their local baseball diamond, using the campaign’s title as a greeting to introduce the new sandwich.

Image courtesy of Subway Canada

Dentsu creative director Kyla Galloway says the SubDog and its accompanying campaign were developed to attract Gen Z audiences while enticing existing customers with something unexpected. Galloway says the insight that 40% of Canadian baseball fans identify as Jays supporters led Subway to focus on the team’s broader cultural role rather than simply the sport itself.

“They range from hardcore to casual, but they all share a stronger love for Canada’s only MLB team than they do for the game,” she tells strategy. “This insight, along with our newfound partnership with the Jays, influenced how we crafted our campaign – celebrating one of Canada’s most beloved teams while launching a new product that is undeniably loved by baseball fans: the hotdog.”

“Sup Dog” is rolling out across broadcast, OOH, OLV, social, digital, in-store and CRM. Carat is leading media buying and strategy, Veritas Communications is handling PR and Gale is supporting organic social.

“The campaign’s creative platform is built around a simple truth: really good food speaks for itself,” Galloway says. “The creative magic lay in resisting the urge to overcomplicate. Instead, we introduced our product with a simple greeting that sounds a lot like SubDog – Sup Dog.”