I will never eat at Quizno's again.

[Guest]

Why, why!

http://qpon.quiznos.com/landing_intro.html

If there's one thing worse than torture that Scott has linked to, it's torture that sells out.

[Greg Stephens]

I was wondering why there're a higher pecentage of anonymous posts on this particular topic than most others, but searching Google for Quizno's sponge monkeys shows this thread at (as of today) number three, which I think explains it.

[Rip Tanion]

How long till the Sponge Monkeys go where the real money is...selling BEER!

We love the beer
Because it get's us drunk!
We love the beer
Even more than a steer!

Hey, I'm copyrighting that! Steal from me and I'll sue!

[Amerigo]

I love the Quizno's ad and think it's brilliant marketing. I am new to this forum by the way - howdy out there!

Here's my take:
1) I would never have seen or heard of the spongemonkeys without it being posted on the web and/or if they hadn't been used in the Quizno's ad.
2) I am genuinely interested in checking out Quizno's now. (C'mon - they got a pepper barr!! The sandwiches are warm because they toast them!)
3) What artist DOESN'T want to sell their work in some form? I mean, I suppose you can sit there and be a purist and say "this work has been altered and is tainted by commercialism" but everyone sees art in a different way anyhow - If you think everyone sees your vision of the work or the world, don't be fooled. That you can get a buck or many thousands of bucks and have the work viewed by a massively larger audience is strictly bonus if you ask me - it made me go back and watch the original Spongemonkeys clip that had been made about the moon(a truly weird little clip). That dude will now have the opportunity to show his works in a bigger venue due to 'selling out' on the one(which I think he just did a favor for anyway). Have you seen his bizarre 'Viking Kitties' clip?

I think perhaps the problem may be that the link ya'll posted is not the complete commercial and leaves out my favorite part. Here is a good review and a link to the full thing:
http://slate.msn.com/id/2095868/

Go on...Click it - you know you want to. They got a pepper barr!!

P.S. - to LindseyAnn, not to jump on the "beat down the person who disparaged our thread" bandwagon, but what's wrong with jealous* high school girls?

[Greg Stephens]

...ut what's wrong with jealous high school girls?

I would have thought that was obvious. They don't like the moon.

[russ]

I just noticed this thread and thought it was going to be talking about something else (the homogenization of the country via sprawling multinational corporations that shut out local businesses)... I don't eat at Quizno's any more just because a year ago I quit eating at national chain restaurants in general, as a concrete step to support local businesses. I thought it would be a sometimes logistically difficult choice, but it has turned out to be pretty easy to just eat at local restaurants.

[William G]

What?! McDonalds is the yummiest chemically produced food out there. It will save us all in the future when we all live in mega cities with hover cars and there is no more grain. They will have shown science that humans can eat anything.

And I'll welcome the future. I will look sharp in my silver jumpsuit and moon boots

[Rip Tanion]

I quit eating at national chain restaurants in general, as a concrete step to support local businesses.

I just don't eat at chain restaurants because the food is usually crap. Of course, I have the advantage of living in a city where there's plenty of "mamma and pappa" pizza joints, Italian restaurants, hot dog stands (mmmm, dirty water dogs), Chinese take-out, and Greek diners (they'll make you a burger that's a hundred times better than Mickey Dee's), that I don't have to patronize the big chains. I must admit, though, I still have a weekness for White Castle Murder Burgers.

I will look sharp in my silver jumpsuit and moon boots

A one, a two, a one-two-three-four...

We like moon boots
Because they're silvery
We like moon boots
But not a much as jumpsuits

[DecafSilicon]

"You'll be savoring a star fruit and kicking off your moon boots, oh, you will go to the moon."

Ladies and gentlemen, Moxy Fruvous.

[Myles]

"Hell Lemurs". I like that. It should be worked into a MI title.

I don't think I enjoy the ad, but I found myself drawn back to the original link a few times. It's probably very effective advertising. I also haven't yet seen 'em on TV.

[Fett101]

What?! McDonalds is the yummiest chemically produced food out there.

I just heard on the news that McDonalds is dropping the super size fries and drinks. I wonder what prompted them to do that. Perhaps they wanted to avoid any future lawsuits..

[William G]

Mickey Ds claims that their decision to reduce meal sizes and offer healthier alternatives HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH certain movies about what happens when you eat nothing buy McDonalds for a month and EVERYTHING to do with them changing with the times.

[Rip Tanion]

I heard Mickey Dee's decision was an econimical one. Something to do with people going back again and again for soda refills in those Super Size cups. I can't say if that's actually true or not, though.

[L Jonte]

Mickey Ds claims that their decision to reduce meal sizes and offer healthier alternatives HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH certain movies about what happens when you eat nothing buy McDonalds for a month and EVERYTHING to do with them changing with the times.

And I really believe that too. No. Really.

[Veleno]

My questions about the change to meal sizes at McDonalds...have the prices changed, by how much, and what is the change in price per ounce?

[Amerigo]

McDonald's is gross in any quantity. I eat elsewhere.

[William G]

I tell you though, when I was in Korea, there was a McDees, and KFC, Pizza Hut and a Burger King all within walking distance of my home/ work.

I always went to them because "Big Mac" is the same in every language. (Insert Pulp Fiction joke here) And it was less embarassing than trying to tell the ajumma at the Korean restaurant what I wanted to eat through my broken Korean. "Sam gyup sal, ju seiyo. Mekju anneyo."

Mckey Dees was the path of least resistance.

[Rip Tanion]

What, no White Castle in Korea? No Greek diners? Could you get Chef Boy-R-Dee in the supermarket over there, at least?

[Veleno]

McDonald's is gross in any quantity. I eat elsewhere.

Same here. lol. I can't stand McDonalds. I had also been considering adding in another question at the end: "have they tried making the food taste good?"

[Greg Stephens]

Could you get Chef Boy-R-Dee in the supermarket over there, at least?

Actually, that's one of the curious things about shopping for food in a foreign country, in that you don't realize how dependant on branding you are until all the brands are different. Even many of the familiar brands are packaged differently enough that you can't readily identify them. You have to actually stop and read a whole lot more labels that you ususally would in your home country.

For me, as an American, the soap aisle in British stores was the most confusing because, not only were all the brands different, but I couldn't tell at a glance what kind of soap it was- Clothing? Dishes? Floor? Was it not really soap and actually some sort of drain unclogger? I had to read a lot of boxes and bottles to find the right type, then pick up several and read the instructions to make sure it was really what I needed.

Back on food, though, I also wound up eating healthier in England because the brand unfamiliarity led me to buy more fresh meat and vegetables because a cut of meat or a tomato always looks the same, whereas something frozen or canned could turn out to be almost anything. Well, that plus the fact that the national fast-food seems to be sandwiches (and not sub sandwiches, like you see in the USA), so it was pretty darn easy to avoid burgers entirely.

[William G]

What, no White Castle in Korea? No Greek diners? Could you get Chef Boy-R-Dee in the supermarket over there, at least?

If I recall correctly, yes, you could get Chef Boy-R-Dee there. As well, you could get Pringles... with interesting asian flavors like curry(yum), and shrimp and pepper (Also yum)

I tended to eat Korean food anyway, it is damned healthy stuff. I lost a tonne of weight both times I went there. Except for the Korea fast food chain Lotteria....Talk about making McDonalds look like a five star meal... eww.

The "ethinc" food in Korea was pretty much confined to the foreigner section of Seoul. Mexiacan, Indian, and so forth. But they were expensive as hell. As for White Castle- I'm not sure, but I think that's an America only type chain. At least it's never hit my neck of Canada.

[Rip Tanion]

Actually, that's one of the curious things about shopping for food in a foreign country, in that you don't realize how dependant on branding you are until all the brands are different.

Actually, the same can be said even if you don't leave the country, and just go to another part of it. I remember the summer my folks and I went out to California. I was not quite eight years old, and I had a hankering for chocolate (or as we say in New York, chawclitt) milk. I almost broke down and cried because we couldn't get Fox's U-bet out there. Had to settle for Bosco. I'm not even gonna go into the total lack of a decent pizza joints.

As for White Castle- I'm not sure, but I think that's an America only type chain. At least it's never hit my neck of Canada.

You're probably right. They're not even nation wide. Actually, I think they only exist east of the Mississippi, and north of the Mason-Dixon line. In fact, here in New York City, while White Castles were all over the outer boroughs for decades, I don't think there was one in Manhattan up until about ten years ago.

A friend of mine and his wife moved down to Atlanta a few years ago. They say down South, they have something similar, called Crystal. I use to date a girl from Carolina who told me the same thing.

As for Mickey Dees, when I was growing up, I was one of the few kids that DIDN'T like to go to that dump. Of course, my parents drilled into my head at an early age that McDonald's was "crap". Then again, they had no problem taking me to White Castle, which, nutritionaly, ain't much better.

[Amerigo]

This thread is making me hungry...

Actually, we have crystal AND White Castle where I am(Kentucky) but they don't have them farther south, it goes to all Crystal into Tennessee. The tasty and horrible-for-you little sandwiches are pretty much the same in both places but there are some small differences...
White Castle is definitely a guilty pleasure - so good going down, so unpleasant coming out(and that's all I have to say about that). There is no logical reason why White Castle is a place that I'll eat and that McDonald's is a place that I won't. I just like the addictive little sandwiches better...

[Connor Moran]

Definitely no White Castle out here in the northwest. I'd never heard of it before this thread.