Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are helping deflect Subway's Jared Fogle scandal
The movie stars visited the sandwich chain's Glendale, California location over the weekend.
The superstar sandwich outing was convenient timing for Subway.
The company dismissed its weight-loss pitchman last week after his house was searched in an FBI investigation and one woman accused him of making inappropriate comments about middle-school girls.
The investigation shocked many Americans, who see Fogle as a wholesome man who famously lost 245 pounds eating low-calorie Subway sandwiches.
Now, Pitt and Jolie's stop at Subway is dominating headlines instead. The couple has six children.
"My co-worker went to the back to tell my manager, 'Did you see who's in the front?' And she was like, 'No.' She was like, 'It's Angelina and Brad Pitt!' She's like, 'Is it really them?'" Subway worker Grisell Gonzalez told the local ABC station.
The fact that the socially-conscious and wealthy couple took their children there sends the message that Subway is a family-friendly choice. With the Jared Fogle scandal looming, the brand needs this kind of exposure.
Fast food brands often use celebrities to boost sales.
Burger King hired soccer star David Beckham, McDonald's works with basketball player LeBron James, and Carl's Jr. featured supermodel Heidi Klum in commercials.
But Brangelina's Subway outing has even more credibility with consumers because it's not a staged advertisement or commercial. The couple has even been spotted taking their children there in the past.
Even before the scandal, Subway was struggling to keep up with competitors like Panera Bread and Chipotle.
"It's really been a victim of its own success," David Henkes, from the consulting firm Technomic, told Bloomberg. "It's really saturated the market. It's got over 27,000 (US) locations now. The unit economics are very tough. Competitors have really come in and provided some alternatives to consumers that have caused Subway to suffer some sales losses."'
While a celebrity visit to Subway might seem trivial, it actually provides Subway with much-needed good press.