Nike Pulls Magazine Ad After Complaints
B E A V E R T O N, Ore., Oct. 26 -- For the second time in a month, Nike haswithdrawn an advertisement and apologized to those who found the material offensive.
The magazine advertisement spoofing the dangers of trail runningwas withdrawn after complaints it insulted the disabled.
The ad promoted Air Dri-Goat trail running shoes and claimedthey would prevent the pictured runner from slamming into a tree,“rendering me a drooling, misshapen, non-extreme-trail-runninghusk of my former self, forced to roam the Earth in a motorizedwheelchair with my name embossed on one of those cute littlelicense plates you get at carnivals or state fairs, fastened to theback.”
Nike spokesman Lee Weinstein said the ad appeared in severalnational and regional outdoor and backpacking magazines this month.The Beaverton, Ore.-based company ordered the ad removed from futurepublications.
‘Extremely and Sincerely Apologetic’
“We have a long and diverse record of supporting disabledathletes, and we’re extremely and sincerely apologetic,” Weinsteinsaid.
A corporate apology also was posted on the Nike Web site, notingthat “disabilities of any form are no laughing matter.”
Wieden & Kennedy, the Portland, Ore.-based advertising agency that preparedthe magazine ad, produced the television commercial which waswithdrawn last month from Nike’s Olympic sponsorship.
That commercial showed middle-distance runner Suzy FavorHamilton fleeing a chainsaw-wielding maniac in a parody of horrorfilms. The commercial was quickly yanked after complaints floodedtelevision stations, Weinstein said.
He said he talked with Wieden & Kennedy officials and “theyunequivocally said this was just plain stupid.”
Dan Wieden, co-founder of the firm, said “We have stepped overthe line with this advertisement and there is no excuse for it,” hesaid.
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