Nike biffs it again. This time it wasn’t just a simple ad in the papers or online for the London Marathon. No, that was too easy. Instead, they put their “Never Again” ad up on a gigantic billboard.

https://twitter.com/thehoffather/status/1916947888938090559

Take a good look at that billboard and read it carefully. Nike marketing executives signed off on this huge ad that went up just three days after Holocaust Memorial Day. Understandably, many people had questions. LOTS of questions. 

Nike is facing backlash after an advertisement was displayed Sunday along the route of the London Marathon, one of the world’s most prominent long-distance races.

The giant billboard for the American athletic footwear and apparel company, held aloft with a crane, read “Never Again. Until Next Year” in black letters with a red backdrop.

“Never again” is a slogan widely associated with the Holocaust, representing a global pledge to prevent similar atrocities from happening. The ad sparked further outrage because “until next year” evoked vows that Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists made to repeat their attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

First off Newsmax, “Never Again” isn’t a mere slogan. It’s a promise  and a prayer made by and for Jewish people that the Holocaust would never happen again. It’s definitely not a cute “just do it” marketing gimmick from a sneaker company. 

“‘Never Again’ is a phrase related to the Holocaust and the murder of six million Jews. It is directed as a prayer to the world that it will not allow such a horror to repeat itself. And over the past 18 months, it has been used more than ever, as we mourn the barbaric slaughter of more than 1,000 Israelis and long for the return of hostages kidnapped to the tunnels of Gaza.”

“The fact that the phrase is used as a marketing tool for the marathon is very indicative of the way it is treated. In fact, to chant ‘never again, until next year’ is exactly what Hamas promised: to repeat October 7 over and over again,” Lithman added.

Secondly, one can only assume that Nike didn’t have a problem with the wording nor the blood red background of this sign. The wording LITERALLY invokes both the Holocaust and October 7th and caps it off with the word “Run” at the bottom. 

The idea that @Nike would make light of the holocaust using Hitler-red imagery in a post-October 7th world is stunning.

Heads need to roll.

WTF Nike? https://t.co/5kHx3sdB7a

— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) April 28, 2025

Remember, this is Nike. A company that has stepped in it multiple times over the last few years. Colin Kaepernick was their poster boy for quite awhile. They sponsored him during their 30th anniversary even as he was trotting around the football field wearing pig socks as a slam against cops, or sporting Communist-loving t-shirts during press conferences, and while he was taking a knee during the National Anthem. Nike even agreed with his demand regarding the Betsy Ross sneakers because HE considered the flag racist. 

Needless to say, Nike did realize they stepped in it big time. And issued this apology. 

We did not mean any harm and apologize for any we caused. The London billboards were part of a larger campaign titled “Winning Isn’t Comfortable”, built on runners insights and designed to motivate runners to push past what they think is possible. A series of billboards with the taglines of “Remember why you signed up for this”, “This is bloody tough”, and “Never again, until next year” were placed along the route to inspire runners and the copy was based upon common phrases used by runners.

Okayyyy. Except your marketing team, the entire team, signed off on this ad. They specifically signed off on the wording AND the blood red imagery. 

This is just one more big misstep from a company that has been struggling for several years now. 

Well, Nike needs to look a little more closely at WHO they have working for them in their marketing department. 

A top marketing specialist at Nike responded to Iran-backed terror group Hamas’s Oct. 7 slaughtering of innocent Israeli women and children by accusing the Jewish state—not Hamas—of “massacring civilians.”

James Rehwald, who has worked as a “digital media marketing specialist” at Nike since 2021, on Oct. 16 posted a video to his Patreon account titled, “Why Israel Deliberately Targets Civilians.” That video, Rehwald wrote in his caption, exposes the “brutal military and settler colonial occupation that Israel has imposed on its native Palestinians for the past 75 years.” Rehwald went on to downplay the atrocities Hamas terrorists committed against Israelis during their attack on the Jewish state, arguing that Israel commits those same atrocities “on a much greater scale.”

If that guy is still there… 

There are many who don’t see a problem with this. Some are insisting the “Never Again” phrase isn’t trademarked. Well, no it isn’t. However, it definitely has a major cultural meaning. And when that phrase is combined with the mantra of what Hamas and supporters of Hamas have been chanting since October 7, and the blood red background, it becomes problematic on multiple levels. 

Feature Photo Credit: Nike running shoe via iStock, cropped and modified