A teenager's photo of an 11-inch 'Footlong' cost Subway a multi-year measuring program

In January 2013, an Australian teenager posted a Facebook photo of a Subway 'Footlong' sandwich laid next to a tape measure showing 11 inches, not 12. The image went viral internationally; The New York Post measured seven Footlongs at a New York location and found four came in at 11 or 11.5 inches.

The name 'Footlong' was a product name, not a guaranteed measurement, and Subway's bread naturally varied in length during baking — but that distinction didn't survive a photo simple enough for anyone to check with a ruler. Class-action lawsuits alleging deceptive marketing were filed across the U.S. between January and June 2013.

A 2014 settlement produced no direct payout to consumers but required Subway to spend at least four years enforcing a 12-inch minimum: measuring tools at every location, sampling and measuring bread during compliance inspections, inspection of ovens and proofers, and updated manuals requiring the 12-inch standard rather than the 11.5-inch minimum previously in use. The settlement's final approval, in 2016, awarded $520,000 in attorney fees and $500 each to ten named plaintiffs — nothing to the broader consumer class.