American sports giant Nike sparked global outrage this week after launching a post-London Marathon campaign using the slogan �Never again… until next year� � a crass play on words that invoked the phrase associated with never allowing the Holocaust to happen again.

What was meant to be a clever nod to marathon exhaustion instead triggered a firestorm of anger, disbelief, and disgust. By casually repurposing one of history�s most sobering memories, Nike achieved what even the anti-Israel protesters who disrupted the marathon could not: uniting Jewish communities and Holocaust survivors around the world in furious condemnation.

�Nike�s marketing department has discovered a new and efficient way to burn millions of dollars and lose customers at the same time,� a crisis communications expert said Sunday. �This is like marketing running shoes with a slogan: �The Twin Towers fell � so did our prices.��

The campaign dropped just days after Holocaust Remembrance Day, while Jewish communities worldwide are still grappling with the trauma of the October 7 Hamas massacre in Israel. In a climate of surging antisemitism and widespread trivialization of Jewish suffering, Nike�s flippant slogan was received as a gut punch.

Industry insiders say Nike�s marketing team likely aimed to tap into Gen Z�s appetite for �authentic humor� and edginess. Instead, they stumbled into a catastrophic display of ignorance and insensitivity.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)