Converse pulls 'deeply upsetting' advert after backlash
Social media users say an image from the brand's Instagram account resembled a KKK hood and hanging.
Converse has withdrawn an advert after backlash over what social media users said were Ku Klux Klan-like images, saying it acknowledged “that we got this wrong”.
The photo, which was posted on the company’s Instagram account, drew criticism online after people said the lighting made it resemble a white pointed hood.
Social media users also compared a pair of shoes hanging in the image to a lynching victim.
In an apology first released on Friday, Converse said the image had been taken down from its social media channels and that it was working to remove it elsewhere. “This should not have happened and we will do better,” it said.
The statement also said: “We’re sorry. We understand why this image is deeply upsetting and recognize that we got this wrong”.
The image has since been removed from Converse’s social media accounts
The photo was part of a campaign for its Chuck 70 X trainer, which launched internationally on 27 August.
The campaign features South Korean singer Karina, from the K-pop group Aespa, who appears in a series of advertisements for the shoes.
Converse was founded in Massachusetts in the early 1900s, and its popularity has surged since its Chuck Taylor sneaker was first introduced to US basketball courts in 1917.
The global brand has been a subsidiary of Nike since 2003.