Food: The $5 Sandwich War

For all its warts, the sheer power of the free market is often undeniable. Case in point - Subway ran a limited-time $5 footlong promotion that has since become indefinite. It's an incredibly effective marketing campaign, bolstered by commercials like these:



Capitalism being what it is, Subway's competitors took notice and cut their own prices considerably. Check out a Quizno's ad featuring their counter-promotion:



The interesting thing is that many of the $5 Subway subs were nearly $5 before the promotion started - consumers were saving maybe 70 cents. The Quizno's sandwiches, on the other hand, got their prices slashed by a full two dollars in most cases - I have to assume Quizno's is taking a significant hit on their bottom line in order to compete. But hey, selling snadwiches ain't for the faint of heart.