Adidas chose a pro-Palestinian activist to promote its new shoe. It didn’t go as planned
Bella Hadid in an ad for the re-released Adidas SL72 sneaker. The company said it would revise the marketing campaign after backlash. Courtesy of Adidas
By Louis Keene July 18, 2024
For a company whose founder was a literal Nazi, you would think Adidas might tread lightly launching a shoe referencing the 1972 Munich Olympics, when 11 members of the Israeli delegation were killed after being taken hostage by a Palestinian terrorist group.
Instead, the company made Bella Hadid — a supermodel of Palestinian descent who once called Israel “a Jewish supremacist state” — the face of the new SL72 sneaker’s marketing campaign.
Now, responding to backlash on social media, the company is changing course, the second time this year it has required damage control for missteps related to antisemitism.
“We are conscious that connections have been made to tragic historical events — though these are completely unintentional — and we apologize for any upset or distress caused,” the company said Thursday in a statement. “As a result we are revising the remainder of the campaign.”
Hadid, 29, is one of the highest-earning models in the world and — with legions of fans and some 60 million followers on Instagram — one of the most influential supporters of the Palestinian cause.
But Hadid, whose father is the Palestinian American real estate mogul Mohamed Hadid, has occasionally been criticized for straying into antisemitism with her comments on Israel.
In her first statement post-Oct. 7, Hadid stated Oct. 26 that she was mourning for the Israeli victims of the Hamas attack.
“Regardless of the history of the land, I condemn the terrorist attacks on any civilians, anywhere,” she said.
Since then, she has continued to post on Instagram about the Israel-Hamas war.
After Almog Meir Jan, an Israeli hostage, was rescued from captivity, Hadid reposted a since-deleted story that his captors had baked him a birthday cake. Meir Jan said his captors starved him and the cake was a cynical gesture.
Adidas was founded by Adolf (Adi) Dassler, who joined the Nazi Party three months after Hitler came to power. In 1935, he expanded the company to equip Hitler Youth clubs. He signed letters to his brother “Heil Hitler.”
The 1972 Munich massacre was carried out by eight members of the Palestinian terrorist group Black September, who infiltrated the Olympic Village and killed two members of the Israeli team, taking nine more hostage.
The nine — three coaches and six athletes — were beaten in their captivity and killed during a botched rescue operation. The games proceeded, and Jewish swimmer Mark Spitz set a then-record with seven gold medals.
The SL72 was originally introduced at the 1972 Olympics as a running sneaker, and is now being released as a casual shoe. StandWithUs, a pro-Israel advocacy group, slammed Adidas for “commemorating” that year’s games.
Earlier this year, Adidas recalled German national team soccer jerseys after people pointed out that the number 4 looked like a Nazi SS bolt.
Adidas previously drew criticism for taking weeks to cut ties with Kanye West after his antisemitic tirade in 2021. It is now selling West’s Yeezy sneakers and says it will donate proceeds to fight antisemitism and other forms of hate.
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