Pressure from Israel forces Adidas to change Bella Hadid ad campaign

Admin I Friday, July 19, 2024

BERLIN – German sportswear giant Adidas is changing the Bella Hadid advertising campaign for the revival of a 1970s running shoe after an Israeli pressure.

The Israeli government criticised the choice of model Bella Hadid to front the campaign for the revived shoe, which was originally designed for the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich.

The Munich Games were overshadowed by an attack which saw Palestinian terrorists kill 11 Israeli athletes and officials.
In a post on social media platform X, Israel accused Hadid, whose father is Palestinian, of promoting “blood libels and anti-Semitic conspiracies against Jews.”

Adidas did not specify what changes were to be made to the campaign.

“We are aware that links have been made to tragic historical events – even if completely unintentional – and we apologize for any upset or distress this has caused,” the group said in a statement.

“For this reason, we are revising the campaign. We believe in sport as a unifying force around the world and will continue our efforts to promote diversity and equality in everything we do,” the statement added.