SUBWAY SAYS FIVE, FIVE, FIVEDOLLAR FOOTLONG IS GONE
It was March 2008, and America was about to belly flop into the Great Recession.
Wall Street powerhouse Bear Stearns had just imploded, sending shock waves through the world financial markets. Savings and jobs were beginning to vanish. Foreclosure notices were papering over neighborhoods. And as a financially terrified nation began rummaging the couch cushions for spare change like never before, Subway launched the $5 footlong special.
The budget deal — 12 inches of bread, meat and veggies for a few bucks — became an immediate hit for the Connecticutbased fast food brand. As Businessweek reported in 2009, within the first two weeks of the campaign, sales shot up 25 percent on average at Subway shops. The marketing jingle became a pop culture phenomenon. Eventually, the $5 footlong would generate $3.8 billion in nationwide sales by the end of August 2009, lifting Subway into the top 10 fastfood brands in the country.
Fast forward to today: The $5 footlong as the world knows it is no more.
In an interview with USA Today, Subway CEO Trevor Haynes revealed the company will no longer require franchisees to run the special. Moving ahead, owners will be able to decide on their own if they want to use the offer, according to the newspaper.
“How do we help our franchises with more of a regional value message, so they’re able to (have) a value proposition that fits with their economic model,” Haynes told USA Today. “If you look at California, there’s a very different cost of business than in Arkansas.”