Subway Responds To Facebook Flap: Footlong Not Intended To Be Unit Of Measurement

Subway got into trouble this week after an Australian man posted to Facebook a picture of a “footlong” sub that measured just about 11 inches. That was followed by countless more people doing the same and an investigation from the New York Post that found nearly all Subway locations they visited in New York sold footlong subs that were not at all that long.

Now Subway Australia has responded to the footlong flap and, in doing so, denounced the term it uses to describe its subs.

On its Facebook page, Subway Australia wrote:

“Looking at the photo doing the rounds showing a slightly undersized sub, this bread clearly is not baked to our standards. We have policies in place to ensure that our freshly baked bread is consistent and has the same great taste no matter which Subway restaurant around the world you visit.

“With regards to the size of the bread and calling it a footlong, ‘SUBWAY FOOTLONG’ is a registered trademark as a descriptive name for the sub sold in Subway Restaurants and not intended as a measurement of length. The length of the bread baked in the restaurant cannot be assured each and every time as the proofing process may vary slightly each time in the restaurant.”

The post was taken down not long after, but Business Insider was able to grab a screen shot.

If Subway wants to respond to the footlong flap by claiming that the subs were never supposed to be exactly 12 inches, it might be going against its own marketing department. Buzzfeed’s Copyranter dug up a commercial from 2008 that showed various people holding their hands apart to describe the footlong sub. Inside their hands was a measurement that read “1 ft.”