Nike’s ‘Walkers Tolerated’ sign at the Boston Marathon was meant to fire up runners. Instead, it insulted them

Nike got a brisk reminder last week of how edgy marketing can easily blow up in a brand’s face.

The sneaker and apparel giant’s ad, at its store on Boston’s Newbury Street ahead of the city’s iconic marathon today, declared: “Runners Welcome. Walkers Tolerated.” It was a striking misreading of the culture of runners, and it came at a moment when Nike is trying to win serious runners back.

Nike had clearly wanted to tap into participants’ sense of pride for making it into a marathon notoriously difficult to qualify for, but the swipe at walkers or slower runners was panned online as mean-spirited at best. The language came off as at odds with the sport’s inclusive spirit, and for the vast majority of runners who don’t run fast enough to qualify for Boston or those who have reason to walk part of the 26.2-mile road race, it felt like a gratuitous slap in the face.

One runner participating in the “adaptive” division of the Boston Marathon, Robyn Michaud, took to Instagram to express dismay: “Due to a spinal cord injury I HAVE to take walk breaks. Even with a cyst in my spinal cord, I still regularly break 5 hours in Boston and plan to again this weekend. Thank you for TOLERATING me, @nike.”

And as ...