Adidas faces boycott calls over an ad featuring a former Israeli soldier who lost his leg in Gaza. Fair criticism of tone-deaf marketing, or politicising an amputee's story?
Activists called it "an affront to Palestinians". The campaign features Shalev Biton, who lost his leg in the 2021 Gaza conflict, promoting the brand's single-shoe fitting service, and has drawn boycott calls from activists and celebrities including Javier Bardem.
What happened
The ad shows Biton being fitted for and running in an adaptive shoe. Palestinian solidarity activists, including PACBI's Stephanie Westbrook, called the campaign an implicit endorsement of Israeli military service given the scale of amputations and deaths among Palestinians in Gaza. Adidas has declined to comment.
Why people disagree
Critics argue celebrating an Israeli soldier's injury while thousands of Palestinian amputees go unacknowledged normalizes the conflict's asymmetric toll. Defenders counter the ad is about an accessibility product for an amputee, not a political statement, and boycotting disabled representation over a subject's military background sets an uncomfortable precedent.
What's still unclear
It's unclear whether Adidas will pull or modify the campaign, or whether the backlash will meaningfully affect sales.
Sources
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