Abandoning Happy Meals and "Eating Fresh"

Well, the inevitable has happened. The Golden Arches of glory have finally been defeated by none other than the.....Five Dollar Foot Long? Well, okay, so maybe Subway doesn’t have the same kind of iconic symbol, but nonetheless the sandwich chain has just surpassed McDonald’s for the number of restaurants it has opened around the world. The difference between the two restaurant chains is hardly staggering: Subway has 33,749 locations in 95 countries, compared to McDonald’s 32,737 outposts worldwide. However, McDonald’s has been the dominant fastfood chain almost since it began in 1940, prompting us to ask what exactly led to its demise (okay, so maybe “demise” is a little melodramatic of a term, considering its still a billion dollar company, but for the purposes of making this blog post a little more exciting, I’ll keep it). In my opinion, Subway was able to beat out this giant through one thing only: superb advertising.

Let’s face it, America’s waistline has expanded in the past couple decades....considerably. And from my own experience, it’s hard to buy that double cheeseburger and experience the same kind of satisfaction when I’ve just come back from a shopping disaster involving multiple fights with my mom about what’s “too tight” and maybe even a few tears. That’s where Subway comes in. Adopting an “eat fresh” slogan, Subway began to fill the niche of “healthy” fast food, or at least cheap food that makes us feel like we’re cutting calories. Cue the lovable Jared, extolling the benefits of “the Subway diet” and showing off an impressive weight loss, and healthy-seeking Americans were hooked.

And then there are the “Five Dollar Foot Long” commercials, with their catchy and yet almost annoyingly simple jingle. Impossible to forget, often impossible to get out of your head for at least a couple hours after hearing it, Subway’s ads were able to spread the message of the sandwich’s cheapness. Combined with its brand image of health and freshness, Subway was bound to grow to its current level of power and status. In truth, eating a footlong meatball sub with ranch dressing and plenty of cheese, plus a few other toppings, is probably not much better than having that Big Mac. But Subway has so strongly created an image of being the healthy fast food chain that it can make us feel like no matter what we order, it’s better than what we could have gotten anywhere else, including McDonald’s. 

In the days of increasing obesity and people searching for any solution to make their kids, and themselves, a little healthier, Subway has successfully carved out its niche through brilliant advertising. I have to admit, it makes me a little sad. I remember the days when a million cars would be in line at a McDonald’s drive-through, as the kids in the car (including my brothers and I) waited impatiently in the car for our Happy Meals and, most importantly, the tiny Beanie Babies that came with them. I’ve even spent a birthday party or two racing through the colorful playgrounds and pelting plastic balls back and forth at my brothers (inevitably ending in a fight). However, when I’m next hoping to fit into a certain formal dress, you can count on the fact that you’ll be much more likely to find me in the Subway drive-through, and not under the classic Golden Arches.