Adidas Apologizes After Backlash Over Ad Featuring Wounded IDF Veteran

Sportswear giant Adidas has apologized following an international boycott campaign over an Israeli advertisement featuring Shalev Biton, an IDF veteran who lost his leg after being wounded by an anti-tank missile fired from Gaza.

Biton appeared in an Israeli campaign promoting Adidas’s Single Shoe service. The program allows people who need only one shoe, including amputees, to purchase one rather than a full pair.

He was one of 11 disabled athletes featured in posters displayed at Adidas stores in Israel. The campaign was a local Israeli initiative and was not part of a global advertising campaign.

Biton served in the Nahal Brigade’s 931st Battalion. During Operation Guardian of the Walls in May 2021, an anti-tank missile fired from Gaza struck his military vehicle on the Israeli side of the border. Doctors later amputated his left leg. However, after undergoing rehabilitation, Biton returned to running with a prosthetic limb.

The Adidas campaign drew widespread criticism from pro-Palestinian activists, who launched calls to boycott the company and focused on Biton’s past service in the IDF. Spanish actor Javier Bardem was among the high-profile figures who shared criticism of the campaign online.

Some posts contrasted Biton’s appearance in the campaign with Palestinians who have lost limbs during the war in Gaza.

Adidas subsequently issued a statement saying the Israeli advertisement had caused strong reactions and that it had not intended to cause offense.

The company stressed that the Single Shoe service was created to improve accessibility for people with limb differences and had first been introduced in Europe in cooperation with disability organizations. The service has since expanded into other regions.

Biton said the controversy also led to a wave of abuse and mass reporting against his personal social media accounts.

He told followers that large pro-Palestinian pages with millions of followers had repeatedly posted about him, resulting in an influx of hostile comments and reports against his account.

The Israeli campaign had been intended to promote greater accessibility for people with disabilities, with Biton describing the availability of single shoes as an important step toward making everyday products better suited to people with different physical needs.