“We didn’t quite anticipate that they’d draft Johnny, so we were sweating a little bit,” said Dan Traci, owner of All Media Design Group, an ad firm that has the Mr. Hero account and advocated picking Hoyer as spokesman.
So when the Browns selected Johnny Manziel with the No. 22 overall pick there was some nervousness from Mr. Hero – a sandwich shop with 95 locations in Ohio.
While Manziel was out signing deals with the likes of Nike, Nissan and others the veteran Hoyer was busy earning himself the starting quarterback job in Cleveland.
And just like that Hoyer has become a big reason the Browns are off to a 3-2 start this year.
ESPN’s Darren Rovell reports that the sandwich chain paid Hoyer less than six-figures annually to appear in its advertising campaign.
“Let’s just say, as Brian and the Browns continue to do well, the deal gets better for us and perhaps less so for him,” Traci said.
Part of Hoyer’s commitment to Mr. Hero requires him to appear for autograph sessions but alas there is food to be had.
“We gave him some gift cards with this deal,” Traci said. “And let’s put it this way: He could eat Mr. Hero every day of the season and would still have money left on those cards.”
