Nike

A lot of people in Ireland were offended recently when Nike released a new shoe named “The Black and Tan.” The PR team at Nike didn’t seem to realize that the term “black and tan” is a phrase ascribed to a brutal British paramilitary unit that helped to crush Irish revolutionaries in the 1920s. The British unit obtained the name because of the khaki uniforms worn by its members. In the U.S., though, “black and tan” is simply a nickname for a mixed drink consisting of stout and lager. (Nike released the shoe to coincide with St. Patty’s Day.) While Nike apologized for the naming flap, they refused to pull the shoe from store shelves.
- Read more about it here: Irish Times