Footlong = 12 inches, however, that is not the case with Subway’s footlong sandwich.
It began when an Australian man posted a picture on Subway’s Facebook page of one of its footlong sandwiches measured being only 11 inches. More than 131,000 people liked the post and the photo caused rage among the Subway fans. Exacerbating the situation, people around the world also posted similar pictures of their sandwiches on Facebook. The New York Post even started an investigation and found that four out of the seven Subway sandwiches they purchased came in under the advertised mark. Subway, in response to the outrage, claims that the name of “Footlong” is not intended to be a measurement of length.
This Subway promotion showed people measuring out one foot with their hands. Subway now say that that footlong is merely a descriptive trademark.
From a loyal customer’s perspective, it could be a bit shocking to see the news. Mathematically,
One footlong sandwich = ~7.5 CAD
7.5 / 12 Inches = 0.63 cents per inch
0.63 x 3 footlongs a week x 4 weeks in a month x 12 months = ~90 CAD per year
Cheating 90 CAD out of every loyal customer’s pocket could accumulate to a large amount of money considering billions of customers around the world. Unlike the cases with false claims on ingredients, which might cause harm to customers, the case with Subway might just be a miscommunication between the customers and the company. Since 1965, Subway has built a strong brand reputation and customer base, it is unlikely that they will lose a lot of customers just because of the shorting inch. Also, Subway has a sustained competitive advantage in making fresh customized sandwiches, I do not think being an inch short on bread is their main focus on making profits.
Ethical marketing results in a more socially responsible community. Subway started offering $5 footlong during the recession and continued to offer it during the recovery. Also, it has taken a nutritional and environmental leadership. Though it might be unethical to have misleading advertisements, the case with Subway might just be one of the public relations problems that were caused by a negative photo about a company going viral, such as the one with a Burger King employee standing on uncovered lettuce. I believe the problem will eventually disappear because Subway has created values for customers.
Fresh and customized at Subway