From the Archives: Fallon, Ving Rhames Turn Arby’s Free Sandwich Promo into Branding

Arby’s stunned fans last year when the brand revealed the face behind its famous voice, all while offering free sandwiches for a month.

Created with agency Fallon, the efforts marked the first time Ving Rhames, who has voiced Arby’s ads for a decade, stepped in front of the camera.

His appearance coincided with Free Sandwich Month, a nationwide promo that gave Arby’s Rewards members one free sandwich every Monday throughout April.

“Ving Rhames has been part of the Arby’s family for so many years, we couldn’t be more excited to finally have him come out from behind the screen,” said Ellen Rose, CMO at Arby’s.

"There’s no one better to take on our sceptics than Ving and doing it during one of our biggest promotions just made sense."

For Fallon Creative Director Joe Johnson, the timing of Rhames' reveal had to feel right.

“When the time came to bring Ving on-camera, we knew we had to do it in a way as brazen and self-aware as this now-iconic voice.”

Arby’s turned a routine discount into a moment, all by revealing Rhames during one of its boldest promotions. 

It's this kind of self-awareness and consumer curiosity that led to an elevated brand message. 

Rhames' Big Reveal

The hero spot's main focus is on Rhames's signature delivery of Arby’s lines, highlighting the same booming intensity that made the voiceover famous.

It kicks off with a couple watching an Arby's ad on their living room TV. 

The two discuss how they've never seen the voice behind the sandwich shop's ads.

Suddenly, Rhames makes an appearance in the commercial and talks to them, breaking the fourth wall. 

"You want to say that to my face?" the voice actor asks the two.

He then steps out of the flatscreen and into the living room, grabs the man by his shirt, and touts Arby's offerings right to his face.

Rhames then grabs a sandwich from the TV and makes the man try it. 

In another twist, it is revealed that the scene is a commercial within a commercial that a group of friends is watching.

"This is the commercial?" one of the friends joked. This angers Rhames, and he once again exits the TV to confront the group, closing the spot. 

The 2024 campaign ran across social, digital, and broadcast channels.

Alongside the national rollout, Fallon launched a social-first series called the “Try Detector Test,” where skeptics who had publicly doubted Arby’s on X were filmed trying menu items.

The series was built on the idea that Free Sandwich Month could be more than just about giving food away, and convincing doubters to reconsider.

The campaign also carried PR support from MSL, which amplified coverage of the reveal and promotion.

Together, the different activations helped Arby’s extend beyond paid spots into conversations happening online. 

Arby’s has a long track record of leaning into bold creative bets, with a campaign featuring Twin Peaks actor Kyle Maclachlan.

In 2023, the chain recorded $4.6 billion in U.S. sales across 3,413 locations.

What Agencies and Brands Can Learn from Arby's:

For agencies, Arby’s Free Sandwich Month campaign shows how to bring even more surprise to a simple promo:

• Time your campaigns well. Aligning a reveal with a large-scale promo increases reach and cultural impact.
• Make the most of trusted voices, as they can refresh a campaign without discarding what works.
• Activations featuring real skeptics can help ground national campaigns in authenticity.

The bigger challenge will be whether Arby’s can replicate this level of humor and authenticity beyond one-off reveals.

Our Take: Does A Reveal Have Staying Power?

I think this campaign worked because it tied a highly anticipated promotion with a major reveal.

On their own, either move might not have stood out.

But by stacking them, Arby’s created a moment that cut across advertising and pop culture. 

In other news, ESPN closed a chapter of sports history with a farewell campaign for Lee Corso.