Overview
- Adidas apologised on Monday after an Israeli in-store campaign used images of Shalev Biton, a former IDF soldier who lost a leg in 2021, to promote its Single Shoe service.
- Pro-Palestinian activists organised online boycott calls that were amplified by public figures including Javier Bardem, turning a local promotion into an international reputational issue.
- The Single Shoe service sells individual shoes at about half the pair price for people with limb differences and was developed with disability groups such as ParalympicsGB before rolling out across multiple markets.
- Critics said featuring an Israeli soldier was insensitive given humanitarian reports that thousands of Palestinians in Gaza have suffered traumatic amputations, a point emphasised by groups like PACBI and cited WHO estimates.
- The campaign left the featured athlete, Shalev Biton, receiving both waves of online abuse and public support, and Adidas says it will 'listen and learn' as observers watch whether the company changes local marketing or the wider rollout.