Adidas' tone-deaf emailed congratulations on Tuesday to everyone "surviving" the Boston Marathon on Monday resulted in the now-predictable outrage, then tsk-tsking news stories, then corporate apology.
The wording of Tuesday's email – including the subject line: "Congrats, you survived the Boston Marathon" – appeared insensitive just four years removed from the 2013 bombing at the race that killed three people and injured more than 260 others, noted The Washington Post.
The Boston Globe said at least two of the bombing survivors – Patrick Downes and Marc Fucarile – ran in the race.
The Adidas email drew an immediate backlash on social media.
Adidas took to Twitter to issue its apology.
Adidas' social media mistake comes in light of similar recent incidents sparking internet outbursts, including Pepsi pulling a video ad starring model Kendall Jenner, noted the Post.
The connection between the Pepsi ad and the Adidas email wasn't lost on Pulitzer Prize-winning Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts.
United Airlines also faced a strong social media backlash after a video of security personnel dragging man off a flight was posted online, forcing the airlines chief executive to issue multiple apologies, noted National Public Radio.
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