• by Tanya Gazdik , Yesterday

Ecco is piling on as Nike continues to take heat over a marketing blunder that dissed Boston Marathon athletes who chose to walk instead of run.

“Nike posted a sign last week at its Newbury Street location in Boston reading, ‘Runners welcome, walkers tolerated,'” according to Campaign. “Nike removed the sign within 24 hours, following feedback that the ad’s messaging was exclusive. Building on consumers’ responses to Nike’s ad, Ecco posted billboards throughout Boston reading, ‘No run intended.'"

The brand gave away 100 pairs of sneakers to everyday walkers and marathon spectators and also hosted on-route cheering stations during the Boston Marathon on April 20 to cheer “runners and walkers alike with equal enthusiasm,” according to a brand statement.

“You wouldn’t expect walking to be part of the marathon conversation, but because of Nike’s ad, walking turned into a current cultural conversation.” Ecco’s global CMO Ezra Martin told PRWeek. “Because our shoes are fundamentally designed for walking, it was an opportunity for us to pivot that conversation to be more about Ecco.”

Martin previously worked at Nike in marketing roles for 11 years.

Asics, another footwear brand, definitely knows how to read the room as well. Following the flap with Nike, Asics quickly put up a billboard in Boston: “Runners. Walkers. All Welcome.”

Nike’s sign apparently was meant to fire up marathon participants. 

“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,” according to Fortune. “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.”

Nike took down the ad and apologized on Friday. 

“We want more people to feel welcome in running—no matter their pace, experience, or the distance,” Nike said in a statement. “During race week in Boston, we put up a series of signs to encourage runners. One of them missed the mark.” 

The sign was later replaced by a “Boston will always remind you, movement is what matters” sign, according to Boston.com.

The marketing fumble highlights a deeper problem for Nike. 

“It may still be the No.1 sneaker brand in the world among casual runners, but it is not the preferred brand of runners, fast or not, who buy their shoes at specialty running stores,” according to Fortune. “Indeed, among that cohort, Nike trails behind Brooks—the leader with 21% of the specialty running shoe market—as well as Hoka, New Balance, Asics, and Saucony, according to 2025 data from research group Circana.”