ADIDAS APOLOGISES FOR AD
An ad campaign for retro sneakers based on a shoe first released during the 1972 Munich Olympics has caused a major storm in two different parts of the world.
Adidas formally apologised for “any upset or distress caused” after pulling the campaign.
During the 1972 Munich Olympics, 11 Israeli athletes were murdered by a Palestinian terror group known as Black September.
Adidas chose Palestinian-American model Bella Hadid to be the model fronting the campaign. Hadid is a prominent advocate for Palestinian relief efforts.
Soon after the launch of the campaign, Jewish groups in Europe and Israel publicly shared their opinions on the campaign. This led to Adidas pulling Hadid from its social media feeds which in turn led to pro-Palestinian advocates calling the German shoe brand out for failing to stand up for them.
In a statement, Adidas said, “We’re conscious that connections have been made to tragic historical events – though these are completely unintentional – and we apologise for any upset or distress caused”.
On the other hand, Hadid hasn’t made any public comments regarding the matter, but she posted an uncaptioned photo of herself standing in front of an Adidas billboard wearing the brand’s top on her social media accounts.
Image credit: The Cut