Jersey Mike's Subs, the popular American submarine sandwich chain, is being trolled on Twitter after the company announced its decision to rename its BLT sandwich to a BLM sub and express its solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement against racial injustice.
Protests and violence have erupted across the country with thousands of disgruntled Americans taking to the streets in recent weeks to protest against police brutality in the country following the deaths of George Floyd and other African Americans at the hands of the police.
Since then support for the Black Lives Matter movement has grown significantly across the globe with several brands aligning themselves with the movement by changing their logos and names.
For instance, Colgate-Palmolive announced that it will review the name of its toothpaste Darlie – labeled "Darkie" up until 1989 – which in Chinese means "Black People Toothpaste." Quaker Oats, a subsidiary of PepsiCo, also said it will change the branding and name of its Aunt Jemima pancake and waffle mix product.
'Bacon Lettuce Mato' Sandwich
Jersey Mike's Subs is the latest brand to announce changes in the wake of the nationwide protests. An image circulating on social media of what seems to be an announcement from the company states that the fast-food chain's popular BLT sandwich will be rebranded as a BLM sub.
"We here are Jersey Mike's are always striving for greatness. With our sandwiches, but also in our community. We have listened to the larger cultural conversation and have decided that effective tomorrow, July 1st, our famous BLT: Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato sandwich will now be known as BLM: Bacon, Lettuce, and Mato sandwich," the announcement reads. "Black Lives Matter."
Although the image appears to be an announcement from the company, the tweet could not be found on Jersey Mike's official Twitter handle or their website.
Reactions on Social Media
The company's announcement has drawn criticism on Twitter with users describing it as a "publicity stunt" and a "marketing gimmick" and urged the company to donate to the movement instead.
"The cops who murdered Elijah McClain and Breonna Taylor still have not been arrested. But at least old episodes of Sunny are being pulled and Jersey Mike's is changing the name of sandwich to solve racism," wrote one user. "And that's what we call priorities folks and also pandering stupidity."
"As someone who worked at Jersey Mike's for a little bit before getting fired...what the hell? Changing the BLT to the BLM? Gross," tweeted a different user. "I get what they're trying to do, but changing the name of a fu****g sandwich solves none of America's problems. Donate money to BLM instead!"
"Jersey Mike's is what happens when you don't have any black representation in higher up places but want to be performative," commented another. Here are some of the other Twitter posts:
