(Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Subway faces backlash after one of its storefronts mocked the Titan submersible disaster on a roadside sign. Critiques of the advertisement describe it as “distasteful,” “sad,” and in “poor taste.”
A photo of a Georgia sandwich chain posted to social media shows the billboard read: “Our subs don’t implode.”
The fast-food giant ultimately admitted that the sign was real and not photoshopped as some users suggested, according to The Independent.
A rep for the company told the outlet that the sign belongs to a franchisee in Rincon, Georgia. Subway’s corporate offices have reportedly contacted the operator to have the billboard taken down.
“We have been in contact with the franchise about this matter and made it clear that this kind of comment has no place in our business,” the chain said.
Social media slammed the Subway chain for the insensitive advertisement.
In a thread on Reddit, most of the users deemed the slogan to be “too soon” following last month’s OceanGate Titan submersible tragedy.
“Eh maybe I’m just overly sensitive but I think this joke is in poor taste,” one person wrote. “Seriously.. 5 deaths is no joke” another noted.
A third commented: “Do the people who put that sign up realize a teenager on the Titan was also killed? Nothing more ‘hilarious’ than jokes about teenagers being killed.”
“I agree (that the sign is too soon). Especially knowing one passenger was a teen that was scared to go on the trip. It’s really tragic,” one Redditor posted. ”
Idiots. They should apologize” another commented.
Meanwhile, WTOC contacted the store manager and confirmed the removal of the slogan from the sign. However, the franchise operator would not comment further on the matter.
Five people died–including a teenager and his father–after the submersible imploded while headed to see the wreckage of the RMS Titanic.
OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, British billionaire Hamish Harding, French Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Pakistani British businessman Shahzadad Dawood and his 19-year-old son Sulaiman were the five victims, The Shade Room reported last month.
The Titan lost contact with its mothership less than two hours after descending into the North Atlantic waters on June 18.
