Arby’s goes to the Wayback Machine to deliver an old Italian sandwich

Arby’s is debuting a new sandwich is hopes will be the kind of hit the limited edition Venison Burger was.

If you were holding out for someone to create a real life counterpart to the Krusty Ribwich, then Arby’s provided in force. Its venison burger reportedly sold out in minutes at locations it was released at, and not the company is hoping they have another hit on their hands.

To market it, they’ve gone to the wayback machine to tout a sandwich that apparently traces back to the 1500s. It’s a pretty simple Porchetta sandwich but it’s made just like it has been for centuries in Italy.

This is all, of course, according to Arby’s. So if it sounds a little trite than it probably is a little.

“Every Porchetta is made by hand before it goes into the smoker and we are really kind of doing the same quality, same craftsmanship that you would get at a single restaurant somewhere in NYC,” he said. “It’s the same thing; we are just able to do it for 3,300 restaurants.”

The ‘1500s’ hook here is Arby’s selling how exclusive Porchetta is — which it really isn’t. You can get it at just about any deli you go to but that defeats the purpose here. Where Arby’s does get credit is the introduction of another bold sandwich that drifts away from its roast beef roots.

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It might not be as big a hit as the venison burger was, but Arby’s rolling deep with an answer to the Subways and Jimmy John’s of the world is a reason we can’t kill them over.