Sportswear giant Nike apologized after one of its London Marathon advertisements sparked furious backlash.
“Never again. Until next year,” the billboard stated.
Critics noted that “never again” is a phrase associated with remembering the Holocaust.
The rallying cry against fascism and antisemitism reportedly originated when survivors of the Buchenwald concentration camp were liberated in 1945 and quickly made signs with the statement.
The London Marathon on Sunday came days after Yom HaShoah, the day of commemoration for the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust.
“What on earth was @Nike thinking?” asked one critic. “They posted this enormous billboard in London for the London Marathon, just days after Holocaust Remembrance Day, but not for Holocaust Remembrance Day.”
“To take a slogan about the Holocaust, and use it for entertainment, is simply grotesque,” decried one rabbi on X. “Nike – Just DON’T do it.”
The billboard quickly sparked calls for a boycott of Nike products.
“I will ‘never again’ purchase anything from Nike,” quipped one person.
“I guess Nike’s deranged new slogan did achieve one thing: a lot of people will never again buy any of their products,” echoed someone else.
Nike, for its part, is apologizing—but says the criticism is based on a misunderstanding.
“We did not mean any harm and apologize for any we caused,” Nike said in a statement. “The London billboards were part of a broader campaign titled ‘Winning Isn’t Comfortable,’ built on runners’ insights and designed to motivate runners to push past what they think is possible.”
“A series of billboards with taglines such as ‘Remember why you signed up for this’, ‘This is bloody tough’ and ‘Never again until next year’ were placed along the route to inspire runners and the copy was based on common phrases used by runners.”
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