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'Our subs don't implode': US food chain faces flak over insensitive ad mocking Titan sub tragedy

Photos of the hoarding have been widely shared on social media, with many users pointing out that it was "tone deaf" and in “poor taste”

Published: Wed 5 Jul 2023, 4:07 PM

Updated: Wed 5 Jul 2023, 4:30 PM

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This undated photo shows the Titan submersible launching from a platform. Last month, it went missing during one of its expeditions to the wreckage of the Titanic. After a days-long search, authorities said it had likely imploded, killing all five people on board. (Handout: OceanGate Expeditions/ AFP)

This undated photo shows the Titan submersible launching from a platform. Last month, it went missing during one of its expeditions to the wreckage of the Titanic. After a days-long search, authorities said it had likely imploded, killing all five people on board. (Handout: OceanGate Expeditions/ AFP)

A subway outlet in the US state of Georgia is facing backlash for putting up an advertisement that appeared to have mocked the Titan submarine disaster in which five people lost their lives. Photos of the hoarding, which read “Our Subs Don’t Implode”, went viral on social media, with many calling it “shameful” and in “poor taste”.

Titan, the 21-foot doomed submersible operated by OceanGate Expeditions, was lost in deep sea after what authorities described as a "catastrophic implosion", killing Dubai-based British billionaire Hamish Harding, UK-based Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, French submarine operator Paul-Henri Nargeolet and OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush.

After the Subway ad sparked controversy, the fast-food chain issued a statement, saying that it had been 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 sign has since been removed,” the statement read, reported Fox News Digital.

People on Twitter admonished the publicity material.

The Titan submarine was headed to explore the Titanic wreckage in the depths of the Atlantic Ocean when it lost contact with its mother ship on June 18, triggering a multi-nation search. Days later, the US Coast Guard found Titan’s debris and said that the vessel suffered a “catastrophic implosion”, which is believed to have killed the crew instantly.

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