McKinney Wins in Sneak Preview Episode of AMC's "The Pitch"

DURHAM, N.C., April 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- McKinney appeared in last night's sneak preview episode of "The Pitch," AMC's new unscripted series where advertising agencies battle for a new piece of business. The agency was featured winning a project assignment for the world's largest restaurant chain, SUBWAY® restaurants. The documentary-style series, produced by Studio Lambert ("Undercover Boss"), follows some of the ad industry's best creative shops as they persevere under very tight deadlines and high-stake conditions to create powerful campaigns for top marketers. The episode is now available on AMCTV.com, iTunes and YouTube, and will re-air on the series premiere event Monday, April 30, at 10 p.m. ET/PT on AMC.

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"It feels great to have won," said Jonathan Cude, chief creative officer of McKinney. "We're an agency that works well under pressure; we love challenges and are not afraid of taking risks we ask our clients to take. With cameras around, limited time and the pressure of delivering an idea worthy of a brand like SUBWAY®, we came through. Our respect and love for each other and what we do made it possible."

In the sneak preview, viewers went behind the scenes as McKinney and Los Angeles-based WDCW poured their hearts and souls into conceiving the most creative and powerful ideas to invite 18- to 24-year-olds to try breakfast at the SUBWAY® restaurant chain. The plan would be to potentially incorporate the winning pitch idea into SUBWAY®'s successful multi-message, multi-audience marketing approach. The show presents an in-depth look at how both agencies worked around the clock, concepting ideas and developing campaigns to pitch and, hopefully, impress select members of the SUBWAY® restaurant marketing team.

McKinney's winning idea, "Freestyle Breakfast," highlights the endless sandwich combinations available at SUBWAY® restaurants and how a customer can customize breakfast on the spot. The campaign features YouTube sensation Mac Lethal performing a rap he created for a social game called "Freestyle or Starve" that lets players battle their friends for free breakfast, and a contest for the best freestyles. During the pitch at SUBWAY® world headquarters in Milford, Connecticut, the SUBWAY® restaurant marketing team along with MMB, the long-time and continuing creative agency of record for the brand, were treated to an in-person performance from Lethal who rapped about the power of the SUBWAY® brand and encouraged them to select McKinney.

"The whole agency was emotionally invested in this competition," said Cude. "It makes being in this business worth it. The deafening cheer that went up will be with me for a long time."

About McKinney

McKinney is an independent advertising agency leading the evolution of the advertising industry in a post-digital world.

Founded in 1969, the Durham, NC-based agency is recognized for having built one of the most innovative business models in the industry, one that blurs the lines between traditional and digital media. As a result, McKinney has been recognized as one of the best agencies in the country by Advertising Age and one of a handful of agencies setting the standard for creativity by One Magazine. The agency's clients include GNC, Gold's Gym, Nationwide Insurance, Big Boss Brewing, Lenovo, Meijer, Ruby Tuesday, Mizuno USA, CenturyLink, Sherwin-Williams, Brown-Forman Corporation and Urban Ministries of Durham.

About AMC

AMC reigns as the only cable network in history to ever win the Emmy® Award for Outstanding Drama Series four years in a row, as well as the Golden Globe® Award for Best Television Series - Drama for three consecutive years. Whether commemorating favorite films from every genre and decade or creating acclaimed original programming, the AMC experience is an uncompromising celebration of great stories. AMC's original stories include "Mad Men," "Breaking Bad," "The Walking Dead," "The Killing" and "Hell on Wheels." AMC further demonstrates its commitment to the art of storytelling with its slate of unscripted original series, as well as curated movie franchises like AMC's Can't Get Enough and AMC's Crazy About. Available in more than 97 million homes (Source: Nielsen Media Research), AMC is owned and operated by AMC Networks Inc. and its sister networks include IFC, Sundance Channel and WE tv. AMC is available across all platforms, including on-air, online, on demand and mobile. AMC: Story Matters Here(SM).

About Studio Lambert 

Studio Lambert is a fast-growing independent television production company based in London and Los Angeles. It specializes in creating and producing entertaining, non-scripted programs for the UK, US and international markets. It produces programs for a wide range of American and British networks including the Emmy nominated worldwide hit, Undercover Boss.

Chief executive Stephen Lambert is responsible for ground-breaking programs in Britain and America such as Wife Swap, The Secret Millionaire, Faking It and, most recently, Undercover Boss. The US team is led by Eli Holzman, the former head and co-founder of Miramax Television, who created the award-winning hit Project Runway. Eli also developed and launched Beauty & the Geek and co-created Bravo's Work of Art: America's Next Great Artist.

Studio Lambert is backed by All3Media, a global group of production companies and an international distribution company.

SOURCE McKinney