Reebok officials admitted yesterday to making a mistake
naming a woman's running shoe "Incubus," but executives
couldn't "entirely explain the process that had one of its
products being named for a demon nocturnal molester,"
according to Chris Reidy of the BOSTON GLOBE. Reebok Dir of
PR Dave Fogelson: "This is something that slipped through
the screening process and shouldn't have happened. ... The
name of the shoe is highly inappropriate. We apologize to
anyone who was offended by it." Fogelson said that since
the shoe is "virtually sold out," there is not much the
company can do other than advise retailers they may want to
"white-out" the name on boxes of shoes still unsold. Reidy
notes, "bad names apparently don't spook Wall Street," as
Reebok stock hit a 52-week high on the NYSE Wednesday of 52
7/8, before closing at 52 1/2 (BOSTON GLOBE, 2/20). Reebok
spokesperson Kate Burnham: "We are a company that has built
its business on women's footwear, so to do anything that's
denigrating to women is not what we're about" (N.Y. DAILY
NEWS, 2/20). A TAMPA TRIBUNE header: "Shoe Bears Same Name
as Sex-Crazed Demon" (TAMPA TRIBUNE, 2/20).
