Jersey Mike’s and Highdive Kick Off Football Season with Danny DeVito and Eli Manning

Football season is underway and Jersey Mike’s Subs is entering the second year of its official NFL partnership with the launch of “Game Day Mike’s Way.” The sprawling new campaign escalates the playful rivalry between two-time Super Bowl champion Eli Manning and franchise staple Danny DeVito. Developed in collaboration with Chicago-based creative agency Highdive, the platform builds on last year’s “Eli vs. Danny” introduction, this time placing DeVito directly under center in a cinematic sports mockumentary titled Stacked and Jacked: The Danny DeVito Story.

The campaign flips the script on the duo’s dynamic. In 2023, Manning joined the sub chain as a spokesperson for its NFL sponsorship, sparking an on-screen territorial feud with longtime brand ambassador DeVito. For year two, DeVito takes revenge by usurping Manning’s legacy entirely, taking the field as the greatest quarterback in NFL history while a baffled Manning is relegated to the sidelines.

Let’s take a look…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyCCg4wWZJc

The faux-biopic short film leans into classic sports-movie tropes to showcase the heft of Jersey Mike’s subs. In this alternate universe, DeVito’s legendary throwing power is not the result of weight rooms or specialized coaching, but decades spent hoisting sub sandwiches packed high with meat, cheese, and fresh toppings. When questioned in the film about the secret behind his Hall of Fame arm, DeVito offers a deadpan training philosophy: “It’s easy. Lift heavy sub, eat heavy sub.”

To execute the sports biopic parody, Highdive brought on director Eric Appel. Appel, known for helming faux trailers and tongue-in-cheek biopics like Weird: The Al Yankovic Story and Field of Dreams 2: Lockout, channeled traditional underdog cinema to establish the premise. The short film relies on standard dramatic sports framing, archival-style footage, and deadpan commentary to contrast DeVito’s diminutive frame with his status as an unstoppable gridiron powerhouse.

Beyond the centerpiece film, “Game Day Mike’s Way” represents Jersey Mike’s most integrated marketing campaign to date. The fictional football world engineered for DeVito extends far beyond traditional broadcast spots, incorporating a comprehensive multi-channel rollout. The platform features television commercials, online video (OLV), paid display, social media rollouts, influencer partnerships, on-the-ground brand acts, and limited-edition product offerings tied directly to game day occasions.

By pairing a deliberate product feature – the physical weight and generous portions of its made-to-order subs – with a comedic sports premise, Jersey Mike’s aims to capture cultural share of voice during a crowded autumn football calendar. The narrative bridges DeVito’s comedic appeal with Manning’s authentic football credibility, turning a standard sponsorship extension into an ongoing narrative saga that engages fans across both sports and entertainment landscapes throughout the NFL season.