• May 2, 2008

Arby's is letting consumers act in its ads. The company is extending its "Rescue Brigade" campaign, launched earlier this year, with the Web-based element, in which consumers can upload audition material.

The Arby's Rescue Brigade is led by Capt. John Maddox, a guy who had a bad experience with a burger. He recruits a similarly inclined ad hoc team of Arby-ites to go about stopping people from eating unworthy fast food. The new effort is based on the idea that Maddox wants a new team member.

The first effort under the "Rescue Brigade" Arby's has a deal with Yahoo to feature the brigade on high-traffic pages.

Consumers can upload the videos as auditions to arbysrescuebrigade.com to vie for a role in a forthcoming Arby's commercial and free Arby's food for a year. The video contest runs now through June.

The company's main ad campaign is "I'm Thinking Arby's" campaign launched thee years ago.

Atlanta-based Arby's, a unit of Triarc Companies, Inc. has 3,700 restaurants worldwide, and is owner and operator of over 1,100 of those restaurants located in the United States.

--Karl Greenberg