Adidas had to backtrack and relook at their most recent ad campaign that featured Bella Hadid after criticism sparked.
The professional shot showed the 27-year-old model dressed in a white fuzzy top and matching shorts in which both were adorned with the company’s iconic three striped lines in navy blue. Aside from the cozy outfits, she held a bouquet of red flowers in her hands that lay above her ankles where her red Adidas sneakers and white socks showed off.
The idea behind this snap was to capture the classic sneakers that were inspired by the 52nd Munich Olympics that took place in the 70s. Now this is where it caused a spark within its consumers, during the 1972 Summer Games where a terrorist attack took place – a Palestinian militant group killed a German police officer and 11 Israeli athletes.
The part Palestinian model shared an Instagram post of her with the ad campaign spotted in a big billboard in the background. This led many to leave their unapproved comments on her post.
“Never buying adidas again,” a user wrote.
Another online user noted, “shame on Adidas ! #BoycottBella.”
While some were against the runway model, others opted to show their support: “All if you in the comments criticising a PALESTINIAN woman who has done more for [Palestine Flag emoji] than any of you could in 5 lifetimes over, you all think you know better but you’re part of the problem.”
“SUPPORT BELLA,” someone else chimed in.
The “unintential” reference– as Adidas stated, recircles to current events like the Israel-Hamas war. Bella spoke out about the ongoing war in a statement shared on her Instagram, “My heart is bleeding with pain from the trauma I am seeing unfold, as well as the generational trauma of my Palestinian blood… I mourn with all the mothers who have lost children and the children who cry alone, all the lost fathers, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunties, friends that will never again walk this earth.”
The well-known active wear brand released a statement on Thursday, July 18, that noted, “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…As a result we are revising the remainder of the campaign. We believe in sport as a unifying force around the world and will continue our efforts to champion diversity and equality in everything we do.”