Summary
Anna Tollison has filed a class action lawsuit against Subway, claiming its Steak & Cheese sandwich is falsely advertised to appear as if it contains 200% more meat than it actually does.
Tollison alleges that Subway’s misleading advertising causes consumers to overpay, which is concerning due to inflation.
Her lawyer said that while such cases often face dismissal, if this one proceeds, it could lead to compensation and class certification, allowing affected customers to seek refunds for the alleged misrepresentation.
Not defending Subway, but food advertisement / photography uses all sorts of dirty tricks to make it look more appealing. What’s photographed may not even be edible.
It’s possible the amount of meat is the same in the photo but just shoved and piled up on the side to look like more.
Example: https://shotkit.com/food-photography-secrets-revealed/
That said, advertisements should be forced to accurately represent what you’ll be served and not an idealized version of it.
When I was a kid, HBO did a special for kids about deceptive advertising practices- imagine that today. They did a whole segment on food photography and showed people doing things like making ice cream out of vegetable shortening and food coloring. The whole thing fascinated me.
Edit: Found it! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaVM2XG4wvE Apparently it was originally a Consumer Reports thing and this is the VHS version. But I saw it on HBO and HBO made a big deal out of it at the time.
Damn… it’s amazing how well I remember this despite not having seen it since probably 1990.
Was that a special on HBO or was it a segment on Dave Coulier’s Out of Control (which is where I personally was first exposed to the idea)?
I thought ice cream (and a lot of other thing in the ads) was usually mashed potatoes.
We had a curriculum in school identifying different types of propaganda in advertising. They had us bring in ads from magazines and sort through how they were trying to sell us things. Likewise, I can’t imagine that still being taught today. Seems like it would be one of the first casualties of the modern American way of defunding education.
Dude, stfu lol. I was taught that in the last 3 years. Just because you “can’t imagine” doesn’t mean it isn’t.
That said, advertisements should be forced to accurately represent what you’ll be served and not an idealized version of it.
In countries like Japan, this is enforced, and what it looks like on the package has to match what it looks like in real life, down to size and shape. They aren’t allowed to “enlarge to show texture” or show it smaller than it is, either.
I’ll offer that this seems to be (somewhat?) true in Canada as well. The pic on the menu was pretty much exactly what I received on my plate. I was surprised because I’m used to the usual “glamor shots” you get on US menus, the perfectly plated dish vs the whatever you actually get. The menu photo seems much more realistic in Canada.
If I recall, the rule in the US is that the primary food being advertised must be real food, so cereal might have glue instead of milk, because you’re not selling the milk. But you can prop it up and cherry-pick as much as you like.
You could style the meat in your sub to look like the ad… but you’d probably find that you have to stack it all up at the edge.
We used to be a proper country with sandwich shops and delis and now we just got these company chains that can’t even manage to make a half decent chopped cheese!
Subway is ass go to a dang deli!
FWIW, my teenager will only eat meatball subs if it comes to sandwiches (not even PB&J) and only if it comes from Subway.
Sigh.
My step kid won’t eat PBJs, corn dogs, and thinks they like grilled cheese, but has yet to eat more than a few bites of restaurant grilled cheese. They love crab legs and lobster. My wallet is crying.
While I agree with your overall sentiment, an italian sub customized to my preferences from WaWa of all places is effing delicious every last time, and they do not skimp on the quantity of meat.
It’s gotten so bad that this poor citizen is complimenting a GAS STATION SANDWICH!!
We’ve fallen so far…
It’s kinda more of a dairy and sandwich business with a gas station tacked on. Most of them didn’t even sell gas before 2000.
Why can’t Subway just give this woman the meat she paid for?
Don’t those photos always have a small print disclaimer on them that says the actual product may not look like that or something along those lines? Is that enough to protect them in a lawsuit?
Fun fact I’ve been told by laywers in a different industry (software ie EULA and licenses): most of that stuff doesn’t do anything. It’s a front door lock. But it’s ok because for most companies you’re also restricted by what lawyers say is ok (oh no we can’t use this “git” stuff, it’s GPL and GPL is literally going to murder you in your sleep it you use it!?!).
Glad the subway by me went out of business
