Quiznos is bringing back Spongmonkeys, its creepy rat-like mascots from 20 years ago, as the restaurant looks for a comeback

• Quiznos is bringing back the Spongmonkeys, its pair of creepy corporate mascots.
• The mascots are the stars of a new digital ad campaign that the chain debuted Tuesday.
• Quiznos closed 95% of its restaurants leading up to a 2014 bankruptcy, but it's planning a comeback.

Quiznos is bringing back some of the creepiest mascots in corporate history: The Spongmonkeys. 

A new digital ad campaign will feature the two creatures, shaped like small rodents but with human-like buggy eyes and teeth. In an ad that the sandwich chain posted to Youtube, the Spongmonkeys announce their return, with one singing and the other strumming a guitar. 

 

"We are baaack on a road trip to get to Quiznos," one of the Spongmonkeys sings.

The last time the mascots were the face of Quiznos, the brand occupied a much bigger place on the American restaurant scene. The Spongmonkeys last appeared in an ad for the chain in 2005, when Quiznos had about 4,000 locations, according to Restaurant Business Online.

But the chain started to crumble in the late 2000s after a private equity buyout and as the global financial crisis started, according to 1851 Franchise, a publication for franchisees. Locations began to shutter, and in 2014, Quiznos filed for bankruptcy. 

Since its peak, it has closed 95% of its stores, leaving it with just over 150 locations. "Quiznos' decline is the biggest in restaurant industry history," Restaurant Business reported in its own coverage of the Spongmonkeys' return on Tuesday.

The Spongmonkeys' reappearance is part of a larger effort to return the toasted sandwich chain to glory. The company said in a statement Tuesday that it started franchising new locations last year after a decade-long hiatus. Franchised locations were key to Quiznos previous store network.

"It's harder to find a Quiznos these days, and we're here to fix that, because it's a new day, and we're bringing Quiznos back," a narrator says at the end of the new ad.

"We love the subs!" one of the Spongmonkeys screams shortly afterward. 

Quiznos seems aware that it has lots of ground to gain back.

"The Spongmonkeys were last seen in 2005, when they were loved and hated in roughly equal measure," CEO Tim Casey said in the statement. "The return of the brand's most famous mascots, the Spongmonkeys, marks the resurgence of Quiznos."