Getty The Jersey Mikes Sub sandwich store logo is seen in Chantilly, Virginia.
Jersey Mike’s Subs appeared to share a message on Twitter about how the sandwich shop is planning to support the Black Lives Matter movement on Monday evening. The franchise fast-food restaurant, which has over 2,000 locations across the United States, seemed to announce that they would change the name of their BLT sandwich to BLM because “Black Lives Matter.”
The statement read: “We here at 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 1, our famous BLT: Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato sandwich, will now be known as the BLM: Bacon, Lettuce, and ‘Mato sandwich.”
Jersey Mike’s, which has around 84,000 followers on Twitter, did not tweet this tone deaf BLM statement. There’s also no mention of the BLT becoming the BLM on their website, or official Instagram page.
If this was a real campaign starting on July 1, their social media channels would be heavily promoting the change. While it’s not clear who created the fake Jersey Mike’s menu announcement, upon Google searching “Jersey Mike’s BLM,” one of the top sites to pop up is a 4chan bulletin board.
The most recent real social media post on Jersey Mike’s on Instagram was about celebrating Graduation Day. Their latest real tweet was congratulating their 2020 Sub Abover Grant Recipients. As stated on their website, “Jersey Mike’s presented the five $5,000 grants to those making a difference in their local communities. The grants are designed to help the winners make an even bigger impact. This is the third year that the company has presented the grants.”
Jersey Mike’s has not yet released a statement on the phony BLM statement. Heavy has reached out for comment but did not immediately hear back.
The Fake Jersey Mike’s BLM Campaign Tricked a Lot of Twitter Members & Made for Hilarious Memes
While a lot of Twitter users were immediately suspicious of Jersey Mike’s ad, unable to believe the popular sandwich shop would make such a ridiculous change to their menu to support Black Lives Matter, a lot of people fell for that fake ad and shared their reactions online.
Other people knew it was a fake statement, but played along with the joke anyway, which led even more people believe it was real.
One Twitter member joked, “That’s it, Jersey Mike’s solved racism. We can all go home now.” Another person wasn’t sure what to believe. He tweeted, “Jersey Mike’s just proved that companies should shut up about social issues. This is so dumb that I can’t decide if they’re serious or if @jerseymikes is trolling?”
Jersey Mike’s Ran a Real Campaign to Donate Money to Feeding America in April
While Jersey Mike’s is not changing the name of their BLT sandwich to BLM, they did run a real campaign that would actually help people amid coronavirus. On April 25 and April 26, Jersey Mike’s announced they would donate 20% of their sales to Feeding America, with a minimum donation of at least $1 million.
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Feeding America, Katie Fitzgerald, said in a statement, “School closures and rising unemployment due to shelter-in-place and stay-at-home orders has disproportionately impacted people already at risk of hunger. We are grateful for Jersey Mike’s generous support of food banks that are in communities helping people who struggle with hunger. This donation will help our member food banks provide more meals to people who need them most.”
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