Hasta La Creative!

Throughout his tenure as the host of the Daily Show Jon Stewart has loved lampooning one particular sandwich chain: Arby’s. Last night, during the second to last episode of his 16-year run, Arby’s took the opportunity to say goodbye, with a 60-second montage of Stewart’s best jokes about the brand.

While, yes, a clip show is probably the cheapest and lowest form of entertainment, it works here and not just because the brand is using the Golden Girls’ theme song.

It’s a savvy, self-deprecating move for Arby’s to embrace the value in Stewart gleefully joking about how terrible its product is—something most marketers would never do. At the same time, the spot is actually an opportunity to poke back at him a bit, by showcasing all of the free advertising his endless mocking has given the brand. 

In any case, tonight is Stewart’s last show—so he’s still got a chance to get in his last licks, if Arby’s is lucky.

Check out Arby’s goodbye below:

Arby’s wants you—and Pepsi—to know it’s really sorry that it forgot to feature the soft drink in two of its own ads this year.

The roast beef chain’s deal with the soda brand requires Arby’s to promote the drink in its own advertising. But by the time Pepsi (politely) reminded the fast food restaurant’s executives earlier this fall, Arby’s had already finished all of the year’s creative, reports The Wall Street Journal.

So, Arby’s and agency Fallon made this awesomely simple, self-referential spot, owning up to the mistake with a close-up of a sweaty pint of Pepsi and a voiceover from actor Ving Rhames feigning humbled indignation. The ad reportedly will only air in Minneapolis, New York and Los Angeles.

“We love you, Pepsi,” notes the clip’s YouTube summary. “You’re like a meat to us.”

It’s another gem from a growing vein of meta ads that poke fun at the marketing process, peeling back the curtain and inviting savvy consumers to take part in the joke. Newcastle Brown Ale has proven itself expert at this, and Norwegian bank Nordnet’s new ads make for a strong addition to the genre, as well.

Refreshing as the straight-talk may seem, though, it was all done with Pepsi’s blessing. Plus, odds are good that any Pepsi you order at Arby’s is going to come in a paper cup. 

Up for grabbing some Arby's? No? Would a 13-hour TV commercial change your mind?

The fast-food chain is cooking up a record-breaking TV buy promoting its Smokehouse Brisket Sandwich, which viewers will be able to watch prepared in real time as the brisket cooks low and slow in a Texas smoker for more than a dozen hours.

The spot will only air on one station in Duluth, Minnesota.

According to The New York Times, the ad begins with the brisket being loaded into a smoker equipped with an internal light. Then it just sits there and cooks. Finally, half a day later, any viewers still tuned in will see the arms of Arby's chef Neville Craw as he removes the brisket, slices it and compiles it into a sandwich with some gouda, fried onions and barbecue sauce.

The ad will reportedly begin at 1 p.m. Central this Saturday on MyNetworkTV affiliate My9, but those of us outside Duluth will also have a one-time-only chance to watch the meaty magic when it's streamed on 13HourBrisket.com from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday, May 28.

Once complete, the ad will have secured a Guinness World Record currently held by Nivea, which ran a (now paltry in comparison) 60-minute ad in Switzerland in 2011.