Role: Art Director
Scope: Creative Direction, Concept Development, Product Ideation, and Team Leadership

The Opportunity

Firehouse Subs was preparing to promote its turkey sandwich for Thanksgiving. The year before, Firehouse Subs had created a gravy fire extinguisher that dispensed gravy and gained attention online. Because the idea had connected so well, Firehouse came to us looking for help with another unexpected product with the same sense of humor and surprise. The new piece would be sent to a small group of influencers, so it needed to be visually strong, easy to understand, and memorable enough to earn attention on its own.

I led the creative team through a broad round of ideas designed to push the brief as far as it could go. We explored concepts including a firefighter jacket that doubled as a sandwich warmer and a Jaws of Life sandwich holder. The ideas were intentionally fun, strange, and excessive. That gave the team permission to look beyond standard food promotion and find objects that felt true to Firehouse Subs’ world of fire, rescue, and sandwiches.

The client selected a handheld gravy parfum extinguisher. Designed to resemble a small under-the-sink fire extinguisher, it became a companion piece to the previous year’s gravy dispenser while offering a new kind of product experience. When sprayed, it released a savory gravy aroma. The form was compact, polished, and believable enough to feel like a real object, while the idea itself remained completely absurd. That balance was the key to making it work.