The iconic sports shoe brand’s advertisements saying, “Never Again Until Next Year,” were displayed on billboards on the path of the London Marathon
Jewish groups in the United Kingdom expressed outrage at Nike’s advertisement featuring the phrase “Never Again,” commonly associated with the Holocaust.
The iconic sports shoe brand’s advertisements saying, “Never Again Until Next Year,” were displayed on billboards on the path of the London Marathon.
The London Marathon was held on Sunday, and Holocaust Remembrance Day was a few days earlier on Thursday, April 24.
The billboards caused an outcry among Jewish groups, with one poster on X called Popeyethelonely wrote: “We’ll never again let that horror repeat itself, no matter what. @Nike. You’re a disgrace, spitting on you. Shame on you—get out.”
“My grandmother put her life on the line to save two Jewish families during the Holocaust,” one person wrote on the X social media platform. “We’ll never again let that horror repeat itself, no matter what. Nike, you’re a disgrace.”
However, Nike apologists argued that the “Never again” ad was not meant to invoke the Holocaust but was instead just one of a series of phrases used in Nike’s campaign to convey the pain and yet the sense of reward of running.
Other slogans in the ad campaign included, “Hate every minute, love every mile” and “Running London is hell, but I love every second.”
A similar ad appeared at last year’s London Marathon, proclaiming, “Never again, but see you next year.”The effect of the questionable ad was compounded by anti-Israel protests that took place during the marathon.
Some protesters were calling for a trade embargo against Israel, while others were demanding to stop the sale of arms to the Jewish State.
An anti-Israel activist group let off small explosives on the path, and others threw red powder over London’s Tower Bridge.
Photo: Controversial Nike ad at London Marathon (X) Use according to Section 27 A