SUBWAY Restaurants Partners with USC School of Cinematic Arts for Branded Web Series Contest
On-campus extension of SUBWAY FRESH ARTISTS(TM) initiative taps top film school talent and will be featured on My Damn Channel.

NEW YORK, NY, March 03, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The USC School of Cinematic Arts and SUBWAY Restaurants today announced an historic corporate-academic-creative partnership connecting students at the nation's top film school with one of the leading global brands in the quick service restaurant category to create original branded entertainment content through the SUBWAY FRESH ARTISTS FILMMAKERS program.

The program was developed and executed by Content & Co., the Los Angeles-based brand studio that creates innovative, cross-platform engagement opportunities for SUBWAY. My Damn Channel will host and syndicate the two original web series created during the competition.

"SUBWAY is a brand of opportunity," said Tony Pace, SUBWAY Franchisee Advertising Fund Trust Chief Marketing Officer. "With the SUBWAY FRESH ARTISTS FILMMAKERS contest, we are providing an opportunity for USC's emerging filmmakers to create work and have it seen by an enormous audience. Additionally, our fans will get an early peek at the work of young talent and the next generation of film makers."

"The SUBWAY FRESH ARTISTS FILMMAKERS project is a rare opportunity for our students to create serialized content, which is extremely valuable given the likelihood that many of them will work in television or even branded entertainment after graduation," said Brenda Goodman, head of the Producing Track and Senior Lecturer at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. "Developing this project with SUBWAY and Content & Co. was an extremely collaborative effort, which ensured a very rich and worthwhile experience for our students. For most of the participants, SUBWAY FRESH ARTISTS was their first exposure to working within a 'client service' mindset, which will serve them well in their careers."

SUBWAY introduced the SUBWAY FRESH ARTISTS FILMMAKERS program to students in the USC School of Cinematic Arts last year with a brand brief entitled, "Every Sandwich Tells A Story." The brief challenged students to develop a creative treatment that expressed the personality of the characters through their choice in SUBWAY sandwiches. More than 50 student teams submitted creative concepts for judging by a panel of representatives from SUBWAY, Content & Co., and USC. The panel selected six semi-finalist projects based on their creativity, brand personality, and strategic fit to the creative brief. Following in-person team presentations, the panel selected two finalists. Though the initial intent had been to put one winning concept into production, SUBWAY was so impressed by the creativity and professionalism presented by the finalists that the brand opted to finance production on both projects.

The two winning series are:

Do Whatever - A scripted comedy series from Andy Landan, Giles Andrew, and Alice Mathias featuring an overworked junior lawyer who convinces his computer genius friend to quit his job and start a business with him doing jobs that nobody else wants to do.

Jeff and Ravi Fail History - A scripted buddy comedy sci-fi series from R.J. Daniel Hanna, F. Brian Scolfield and Ian Ward following a jovial slacker and his astrophysicist roommate as they stumble their way from the dawn of man to a post-apocalyptic future in a sputtering time machine.

"SUBWAY FRESH ARTISTS is changing the paradigm for discovering emerging talent," said Stuart McLean, Chief Executive Officer of Content & Co., the brand studio that represented SUBWAY throughout the development and execution of the competition. "Tony Pace and his team at SUBWAY are always looking for fresh content and the chance to nurture young talent. USC Film School is legendary for its ability to provide unprecedented opportunities for their students — this program is a great opportunity for both the school and the brand to do more of what makes them each leaders in their fields."

Both SUBWAY FRESH ARTISTS FILMMAKERS series will make their official debut March 1, 2011, on My Damn Channel. As part of the screening schedule for the FRESH ARTISTS campaign, SUBWAY is partnering with My Damn Channel and IFC to showcase the contest winners at the IFC Crossroads House at SXSW in Austin, TX on March 13.

Publicis Modem, Digital Media AOR for SUBWAY, developed the partnership and digital media strategy focused on driving extensive distribution and promotion of the series on MyDamnChannel.com. The two series will receive extensive distribution and promotion on MyDamnChannel.com, as well as through syndication to select My Damn Channel partner sites including YouTube, Machinima, and metacafe.

"The SUBWAY FRESH ARTISTS project not only represents a unique opportunity to celebrate emerging talent, but also provides a multi-platform brand experience combining digital and event activation to bring this program to life," said Gian LaVecchia, Senior Vice President, Branded Content & Strategic Partnerships, Publicis Modem.

"The SUBWAY FRESH ARTISTS FILMMAKERS project gives My Damn Channel the chance to deliver legitimately great content from USC filmmakers to our audience," said Rob Barnett, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of My Damn Channel. "We plan to help bring them one step closer to the fame and fortune of our name-brand talent."

In addition to hosting and syndicating the series, My Damn Channel will produce original content related to the SUBWAY FRESH ARTISTS FILMMAKERS initiative, including behind the scenes extras, filmmaker profiles, and coverage of special industry-showcase screening events planned at the USC School of Cinematic Arts and at SXSW 2011. As part of the syndication platform for SUBWAY FRESH ARTISTS, the brand plays a major role in distribution of content by featuring it on the Official SUBWAY Facebook page (facebook.com/subway), Twitter (@subwayfreshbuzz) and other social media platforms that reach more than 3,600,000 fans in aggregate.

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