Adidas is apologizing after a marketing email sent a day after the 121st Boston Marathon referred to runners as having "survived" the race.
According to images circulated on social media, the apparel company emailed customers Tuesday with the subject line, "Congrats, you survived the Boston Marathon!"
Social media users quickly highlighted the tone-deaf phrasing, considering the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing by brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev that killed three people and injured more than 260 others.
My friend received this email from Adidas after the Boston Marathon... I don't know how an advertising team doesn't catch this. pic.twitter.com/Fe16Z4Hnvq
— Robin Dich (@RobinDich) April 18, 2017
The Associated Press notes that at least two survivors of that attack ran this year's race. It's unclear if they received the email.
In a statement, Adidas calling the race "one of the most inspirational sporting events in the world."
"Clearly, there was no thought given to the insensitive email subject line we sent Tuesday," the statement reads. "We deeply apologize for our mistake."
Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. 9(MDAwMTM1NDgzMDEyMzg2MDcwMzJjODJiYQ004))
— adidas (at 🏡) (@adidasUS) April 18, 2017