The sandwich chain Subway is typically in the business of feeding people, not freaking them out.
However, some Twitter users were unnerved by a high-concept artsy film short that is somehow really an ad for the fast-food giant.
Fast Company reports the ad aired in Brazil in 2016, a detail that Subway confirmed to HuffPost.
However, the ad went viral on Twitter Thursday after Twitter user Ryan Simmons tweeted out the video.
got another capitalism greatest hit. i will give you one hundred thousand dollars if you can guess the brand by the end pic.twitter.com/bwfJJLabg4
— Ryan Simmons (@rysimmons) June 27, 2019
Simmons tried to explain confusing details about the ad to his followers.
FAQ:
— Ryan Simmons (@rysimmons) June 27, 2019
Q: Is this real?
A: Real as you and me.
Q: Who made it?
A: A firm called Stink (!) out of their Brazil office with director Salsa (?)
Q: Is that a little boy peeing?
A: Yes.
Q: I got it right on the first guess.
A: That's not a question, and no you did not.
MORE FAQ:
— Ryan Simmons (@rysimmons) June 27, 2019
Q: Is he peeping on his mom?
A: I don't think so, but anything's possible.
Q: Is the sandwich artist the girl he kissed?
A: See above.
Q: When he shaves his head after the heartbreak, is he becoming an incel?
A: Without a doubt, 100% yes.
The short film did inspire strong and strange reactions from many Twitter users.
Some people wondered about its purpose.
It's such a confusing ad. Was shook when Subway popped up at the end. I was thinking like a healthcare company or something like that.
— Fun Guy (@maxdijion) June 27, 2019
I am so angry! His whole life culminated to be standing in a smelly Subway? He traveled the world as a privileged man-boy to only end up in a freaking smelly Subway. Is this a suicide prevention ad?? Is there a hotline number??
— janeÞ🇮🇸 #ProLifePens (@nopittie) June 27, 2019
Some had questions.
Why is there bullying, sexual mischief and peeping(family??) in a Subway ad
— Jon Strong (@jondstrong) June 27, 2019
Like, is the sandwich artist the girl he kissed in the lake? Or was all the angst and Britney head-shaving just leading him to his one true sandwich, the pinnacle of his adolescence?
— caro (@carowek) June 27, 2019
Others saw opportunity.
need a debate question tonight about the subway ad
— elizabeth bruenig (@ebruenig) June 27, 2019
@SUBWAY you making anymore ads sometime soon? Got a great sci-fi horror, that really screams veggie delight on hearty Italian
— Will Watson (@Will_Watson343) June 27, 2019
Some people speculated about the origin of the ad.
I feel like the agency made the ad for someone else but they balked at the price so they just cut their losses and sold it to subway for a foot long
— Tizzy McDizzy (@DerbyDayNYC) June 27, 2019
Others lost their appetite.
I was literally eating a Subway sandwich when I watched it and now I never wanna go there again so they should fire their ad consultants or whatever
— Aidan Lardner (@ajlardner95) June 27, 2019
And at least one person thought Subway was taking a needless risk with the ad, concerning the scandal that erupted in 2015 when former spokesman Jared Fogle was sentenced to 15 and a half years in federal prison for child pornography and sex charges.
Don’t you think you should not use children in your ads till at least Jared is outta prison?
— Tuvy Ryebaert (@kingtuvy) June 27, 2019
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