The sports company has committed a political faux pas: Now follows the apology and the promise to revise the campaign.
The German sports giant Adidas publicly apologized following a media uproar regarding its latest advertising campaign. The brand celebrated the relaunch of a classic sneaker model, which was first used at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. Adidas had chosen Bella Hadid as the face of the associated campaign.
The model is of Palestinian descent on her father’s side and has participated in pro-Palestinian protests in the past. This is problematic because the Olympic Games in Munich were overshadowed by terrorist attacks carried out by the Palestinian terrorist organization Black September, resulting in the deaths of eleven of the fourteen Israeli Olympic participants and one police officer.
The campaign was sharply criticized digitally and internationally. Adidas is accused of downplaying an assassination with its new advertising campaign. The American Jewish Committee urged the sports company to address its “outrageous mistake.” The Israeli embassy in Germany also posted via “X” addressed to Hadid and Adidas: “You and your father frequently spread anti-Semitic slurs and conspiracies against Jews. Adidas, is there a comment on this?”
The history of the company is also marked by anti-Semitism. Founder Adolf Dassler was a member of the NSDAP from 1933, and during World War II, anti-tank weapons were manufactured in his factory.
Adidas has now announced that it will modify the remainder of the campaign and apologized for any “resulting anger.” All tweets from Adidas featuring Hadid as part of the campaign have already been deleted. (red)