AN ADIDAS marketing campaign horrendously backfired after it was hijacked by Twitter users yesterday, leading an official account to tweet out pictures of Arsenal shirts with racist and offensive slogans on the back.

[[{"fid":"14517","view_mode":"inlineright","fields":{"format":"inlineright","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":false,"field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false},"link_text":null,"type":"media","field_deltas":{"1":{"format":"inlineright","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":false,"field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false}},"attributes":{"class":"media-element file-inlineright","data-delta":"1"}}]]The campaign encouraged Twitter users to use the promotional hashtag #DareToCreate to produce an automated image of the new Arsenal jersey with the user’s Twitter handle emblazoned on the back. The images would then be automatically posted to Twitter feeds by the official Adidas UK account.

But users with handles including “@GasAllJewss,” “@MadelineMccann,” and “DieAllN****rs” used the hashtag to force the account to tweet out the racist and inflammatory phrases and images of them plastered on the back of the Arsenal jersey.

The accompanying tweets, after repeating the Twitter handle, had the message: “This is home. Welcome to the squad,” and encouraged users to “seal the deal” by purchasing the pictured shirt.

Adidas has promised an investigation into the incident, while Arsenal released a statement saying: “We totally condemn the use of language of this nature, which has no place in our game or society.”

The incident is the latest to highlight the unpredictable response of online audiences to customisable Twitter bots.

Microsoft AI chatbot Tay, which learned by “speaking” to Twitter users, was closed after only a day in 2016 after users taught it to spout racist, sexist and other offensive language.