Nike has replaced the controversial window vinyl at its Newbury Street store in Boston with a plain red panel reading “RUN Boston.” The new display went up over the weekend, days after the original “Runners Welcome. Walkers Tolerated.” sign was pulled following a viral backlash.
The replacement carries the swoosh, the word “RUN” in large type, and the city name beneath. There is no follow-up message addressing the runners, charity athletes, run-walk qualifiers, and adaptive marathoners who objected to the word “tolerated.” The panel slots into the same window pane that held the original line less than 72 hours earlier.
The first vinyl went up Thursday ahead of Monday’s Boston Marathon and drew immediate criticism online. Adaptive athlete and 50-time marathoner Robyn Michaud responded publicly. Run coach Amy Gougler called the ad offensive.
A Dana-Farber fundraiser put up his own counter poster that read, “No matter the speed, forward is a pace.” The sign was removed Friday morning.
Nike issued a statement Friday afternoon saying one of its signs “missed the mark” and that the company would “use this moment to do better and continue showing up for all runners.” The window was left empty for roughly a day before the new “RUN Boston” vinyl was installed.
Nike is not the official footwear sponsor of the Boston Marathon. Adidas is. The Newbury Street signs are part of the brand’s annual ambush marketing push in World Marathon Majors cities, which also includes London, Berlin, Chicago, New York, and Tokyo. The storefront sits roughly a block from the Boylston Street finish line, which will see tens of thousands of runners on Monday.
