- One fan said they would wear their “new Gazelles with shame” amid calls for a boycott
Adidas could be facing a ‘Bud Light moment’ as calls for a boycott of the brand continue over its use of a biologically male model to promote a women’s swimsuit in its ‘Pride 2023’ collection.
The sportswear giant drew the ire of fans who accused it of “mocking” women when it unveiled an ad for a £50 swimsuit as part of its campaign to “uphold inclusive values”.
But disenfranchised fans continued to criticize the “woke” firm today, with some encouraging customers to “burn” their Adidas Gazelle trainers in protest.
One angry fan said the backlash was Adidas’ “Bud Light moment”, echoing the debacle the US beer brand faced after launching an ad campaign featuring a transgender social media influencer.
Sales of the beer collapsed after the backlash and its parent company Anheuser-Busch saw 2.4 billion pounds ($3 billion) wiped off its market capitalization value after its paid partnership with Dylan Mulvaney was revealed in early April.
Others warned that businesses using such “woke” marketing tactics could face the wrath of consumers.
Critics include Olympic legend Sharron Davies MBE, who called on the firm to “stop belittling women”.
Another said: “I’ll be wearing my new Gazelles in shame… But I won’t be buying any bikinis,” to which the star swimmer said she “bought a new pair of Adidas trainers last week too.”
This prompted another person to post: “Burn them.”
Another said Adidas “just had their Bud light moment”, a reference to the sharp drop in sales after Trans activist Dylan Mulvaney, 26, shared a video online of herself dressed as Holly Golightly from Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
In it, she held several personalized beer cans – one featuring her face – celebrating her first year of ‘womanhood’. She also posted a video of herself drinking a Bud Light in the bathtub.
Mulvaney was paid to promote a challenge where people could win $15,000 (£12,000) from Bud Light by sending videos of themselves wearing the brand’s beers.
But the campaign sparked outrage among conservative social media figures who attacked the firm for turning to “woke” advertising.
This followed a separate boycott of Nike earlier in April over its partnership with Mulvaney to promote a range of women’s sportswear.
Mulvaney poses for a series of photos and videos promoting the brand’s sports bra and leggings. Mulvaney identifies as female and uses the pronouns “she/they,” but has not had gender reassignment surgery.
In the latest controversy over so-called ‘awake marketing’, the Adidas swimsuit was modeled by an unidentified model who is described as 6ft 2in tall and with a 34in chest.
South African designer Rich Mnisi is behind the recycled polyester apparel – which Adidas says is “a celebration of self-expression, imagination and the unwavering belief that love unites, collaboration explores fluidity, color and pattern”.
The brand’s Pride campaign was promoted by British Olympic diver Tom Daley, but criticism was led today by former Olympic swimmer Sharon Davies, who said it was an “assault on being a woman” and called on Adidas to “stop lampooning women”.
The hashtag “Boycott Adidas” took off after the campaign launched on Monday, becoming the latest backlash against so-called “woke marketing”.
Ms Davies, who has previously spoken out about trans athletes competing against women, tweeted: “Once again a man is being paid to promote a product that is exclusively aimed at women who are physically different form.
“Adidas, if you want to create a swimsuit for trans women, go for it. They have different needs. But stop flooding women.
She added: “Increasingly, it’s moving towards an all-out attack on being a woman and what that means for women, whose descriptive words and rights are being eroded.”
Helen Joyce, from the Sex Matters campaign, told TalkTV: “It’s unbelievable, isn’t it? If there are two places where men and women differ, it’s in sports and in clothing.
“So why women would want to know what a swimsuit looks like on someone with a prominent crotch, narrow hips and broad shoulders, and a flat chest is absolutely beyond me.
“And I don’t know many men who would want to wear that swimsuit. They’re welcome if they want to, but I don’t think they do. So what is the market like?
Broadcaster Julia Hartley-Brewer tweeted Adidas to ask: “Does the $70 price tag for this women’s swimsuit include the cost of a sock to stuff in my crotch because, unlike your model, I don’t seem to have a penis?” to fill that bulge? And do I have to order the chest hair separately? Please inform me. Thanks.’
She later said on her TalkTV show that the ad was a “mockery” of women and Adidas had become “another company I’m going to have to boycott because they don’t respect me or my gender.”
In the description accompanying the product online, Adidas said: “Let love be your legacy. South African designer Rich Mnisi once penned this reminder in a handwritten letter to his quirky younger self, and today it flourishes at the heart of the Adidas X Rich Mnisi Pride collection.
“A celebration of self-expression, imagination and the unwavering belief that love unites, the collaboration explores fluidity, color and pattern. This partnership is part of our efforts to honor the LGBTQIA+ community with our global cause partner Athlete Ally.
“We are all unique, but we are all connected by love. That’s the message of this Adidas swimsuit designed in collaboration with Rich Mnisi. The lush print brings a joyful energy to your day at the beach.’
Photos of the designs on Mnisi’s website do not appear to show the biologically male model wearing the suit. Instead, Mnisi used a woman to pose with other models – including Daley, but he is not seen wearing the woman’s swimsuit.
As part of Adidas’ campaign, Daly wrote a “love letter to the sport”.
It said: “No matter their sexual orientation, gender identity, whatever it is. Every single athlete should be free to love you while loving whoever they want and, most importantly, being loyal to whoever they want.
“There’s already so much hate in the world that says what people can and can’t do at certain levels and in certain spaces. The field, field or pool should be a safe place, a place for free play.
Launching the campaign, Mnisi said: “In creating this collection, I had a strong impulse to speak to my inner child and express to the world how the LGBTQ+ union can create a legacy of love.
“Bringing these themes together through my own visual language and Adidas’ iconic representation and lifestyle is a powerful combination, making the collection a symbol of self-acceptance and LGBTQ+ advocacy.”
“I hope this lineup inspires LGBTQ+ allies to speak up more for the queer people they love and not leave them to struggle alone for acceptance.”
Earlier this month, Adidas admitted that the end of its Yeezy collaboration with Kanye West was “damaging” the business as it headed for annual losses of more than £600m.
The sportswear company cut ties with the rapper, known as Ye, in October last year after he made a series of anti-Semitic comments.
That left Adidas with £1bn worth of unsold trainers and other goods designed by West under the Yeezy brand – which hit the business hard.
Adidas said the loss of the hugely profitable Yeezy line had hit sales in the first quarter of the year by £350m, with North America suffering the most.
As the company racked up a quarterly loss of £20m after making a profit of £271m in the same period last year, chief executive Björn Gulden said the loss of Yeezy “of course hurts us”.
Adidas then announced that it would be selling off its remaining stock of Yeezy sneakers and donating the proceeds to charity.
Adidas has been approached for comment.
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