Nike has apologised after using the phrase “never again”, a slogan often linked to Holocaust remembrance, on its advertising for the London Marathon.
The ad, which was in place for the race on Sunday, drew criticism from within the Jewish community on social media.
Featuring a red background with black letters, the billboard read: “Never again, until next year.”
Nike said that the phrase was intended to play on the stereotype that runners will “swear off” long races after the marathon, only to participate again the following year.
However, some Jewish figures claimed that it could be seen to trivialise the Holocaust.
Campaign group Stop Antisemitism wrote: “At a time when antisemitism is on track to be worse than 1930s Europe, Nike chose to use a slogan tied to the tragedies of millions of Jews. This marketing decision is nothing short of disastrous.”
Prominent human rights lawyer Arsen Ostrovsky added: “I don’t believe for a second there was any ill malice, but please understand the concern with using the words ‘never again’, what they represent and why this was in poor taste.”
Most critics conceded that the decision was likely due more to ignorance than malice, but called on the company to apologise and improve its staff’s understanding of the issue. Others called for boycotts of Nike products until the apology was issued.
The row took on particular poignancy given that race day coincided with the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Bergen-Belsen, one of the deadliest extermination camps of the Nazi regime.
In an apology statement to The Forward, Nike said: “We did not mean any harm and apologise for any we caused.
"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.”
