Greece fumes over Adidas Ad featuring Acropolis

Reports from The Guardian of Saturday, May 17, 2025, say Greece is pursuing legal action after being blindsided by an Adidas advertising campaign that featured the ancient Acropolis.

Acropolis is said to be one of the country’s most sacred and symbolic monuments.

The use of the fifth-century BC site, widely regarded as a lasting emblem of democracy and Western civilization, in a drone light show without official cultural authorization, has sparked outrage.

It has also reportedly prompted an official investigation.

Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni announced that the government had no option but to file a lawsuit due to procedural violations.

Speaking to SKAI radio, Mendoni expressed deep concern over the commercial exploitation of the monument.

She said the drone imagery gave an impression that was both disrespectful and aesthetically inappropriate.

“This very bad, extremely unpleasant image is as if the Adidas shoe is kicking the Acropolis, aesthetically that is,” she stated.

The Ministry of Culture has reportedly filed a lawsuit “against anyone and everyone responsible.”

She asserted that the campaign breached laws designed to safeguard Greece’s archaeological heritage.

Mendoni emphasized that the backdrop of the UNESCO World Heritage Site for a commercial advertisement contravenes these strict protections.

Following the announcement, the Athens prosecutor’s office launched an inquiry to determine how Adidas obtained the necessary permits to execute the drone show.

The drone display reportedly took place late Thursday, with drones launched from the Zappeion conference center, a neoclassical landmark in central Athens.

Events at the Zappeion are overseen by a commission under the national economy ministry.

Mendoni, who is also a trained classical archaeologist, criticized the Zappeion’s administration for not consulting the culture ministry before approving the event.

“Here we have another monument, a newer one, whose administration, if nothing else, should have sought approval from the ministry of culture before granting permission,” she said.

“Here, too, we have a breach of archaeological law.”

In response to the growing backlash and widespread condemnation on social media, Adidas issued a statement.

In the statement, it claimed full compliance with Greek regulations.

“All required permits were received and adhered to,” the company said in an email quoted by Reuters.

Adidas insisted that no direct images of the Acropolis were used for promotional purposes.

Despite the company’s defense, the controversy has triggered political fallout, with opposition parties accusing the government of negligence.

The centrist opposition party, PASOK, condemned the commercial use of the Acropolis.

PASOK called it a global cultural symbol that should never be used as a “backdrop for commercial purposes.”

It also demanded clarity on the culture ministry’s role in the incident.

The left-wing Syriza party went further, accusing Adidas of turning Greece’s cultural heritage into a commodity.

“The image of a sports shoe ‘stepping’ on the Acropolis, created using a drone swarm for advertising purposes, constitutes an offensive commercialisation of the core of our cultural heritage,” the party said.

The Acropolis, and particularly the Parthenon, holds deep national significance and is at the center of ongoing cultural disputes.

Most notably in the disputes, is the campaign to repatriate the Parthenon Marbles currently housed in the British Museum.

Given this context, any use of the monument is closely scrutinized by Greek officials, who must strike a careful balance between cultural preservation and modern visibility.

The controversy comes just weeks after another cultural debate involving the Acropolis.

The Greek culture ministry recently rejected a request by renowned filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos to film the closing scene of his latest movie, Bugonia, on the historic site.

The ministry deemed the scene incompatible with the monument’s symbolism and values.

The apparent inconsistency between rejecting a respected Greek director’s artistic request and allowing a global brand’s drone show has reportedly sparked fierce criticism.

Social media users voiced their discontent with posts such as, “No to Yorgos Lanthimos. Yes to Adidas. No to art, yes to money.”

The incident has reportedly reignited broader debates in Greece about how to protect cultural heritage while navigating the pressures of commercialization, tourism, and international attention.

As legal proceedings move forward, the government faces growing demands for transparency and accountability regarding the safeguarding of its most iconic landmarks.

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