At one point, Subway had a tantalizing deal: For just $5, one could purchase any of the chain’s “footlong” (12-inch) sandwiches.
They eventually abandoned the campaign. But in a now-viral TikTok, one customer said that they were shocked at just how expensive Subway sandwiches have become.
“Are you guys old enough to remember the $5 footlong?” Jessi (@justjessibtiktoks) asked her followers while eating a Subway sandwich. As of Monday morning, her video had over 820,000 views.
@justjessibtiktoks This is barely even real food 🫠 #costoflivingcrisis #fyp ♬ original sound – Jessi B
She then revealed how much her meal cost: A “plain, old roast beef footlong combo” was now $22. Throughout her video, Jessi took small bites from her sandwich. But she complained in the video’s caption that her meal was “barely even real food.”
Subway’s $5 footlong deal began as a promotion in 2007 and lasted for nearly a decade. In a 2016 tweet, it explained that the store’s costs “have gone up greatly”—leading to the end of the deal.
“We know how much our fans have contributed to the success of the $5 footlong promotions in the past. We first launched the $5 footlong way back in 2007 and in the last 9 years our costs have gone up greatly and inflation has eroded the value of everyone’s dollar,” a Subway official previously wrote on its official Facebook page.
From there, the price of the 12-inch sandwich gradually rose—starting at $6. Now, the base of a Subway sandwich is $6.50, and from there, the price increases. Subway charges for meat and cheese, but not veggies.
Unfortunately, Jessi faced backlash for the video, where she turned off comments. The Daily Dot has reached out to Jessi through TikTok and Subway by email.
