Converse has apologized and pulled a sneaker ad after online backlash over imagery critics compared to the Ku Klux Klan and lynching.
The ad, part of Converse’s global campaign for its Chuck 70 X sneaker, featured K-pop star Karina of the group Aespa standing beneath a star-shaped spotlight while holding a pair of black high-top Converse sneakers. She wore a long white skirt, while the lighting made her silhouette look to many social media users like a KKK hood, with the dangling sneakers drawing comparisons to a lynching victim.
The Chuck 70 X was released globally on August 27, and the controversial image was posted to Converse’s social media accounts earlier this month. But the backlash intensified after social media users circulated an uncropped version of the advertisement, which they said made the resemblance to a pointed hood and hanging body more apparent.
Converse, which is owned by Nike, told The Independent in a statement: “We’re sorry. We understand why this image is deeply upsetting and recognize that we got this wrong. We removed it from our channels and are working to remove it everywhere it appeared. This should not have happened and we will do better.”
Still, fans and public figures alike continued to share their thoughts on the ad.
“No, you’re not crazy. Yes, the Converse ad is racist. Yes, it looks like a Klan outfit. Yes, it looks like a lynching. And no, ‘it’s just a shoe ad’ is not a defense,” one fan wrote on X.
Chicago-based photographer Stephanie Schwartz criticized the campaign on Threads, writing: “Shadow, light, and composition. Every photographer can tell you, whoever did this ad knew EXACTLY what they were doing.”
Actress Yvette Nicole Brown also reacted to the campaign on Threads, writing: “That’s a lynching, yes?”
The controversy also resurfaced a separate Converse campaign featuring footwear in a tree. The image, created for a collaboration with Copenhagen-based lifestyle brand Palmes, showed a person standing on a ladder with a pair of sneakers hanging from a tree branch. The image was reportedly released on September 14, Adweek reports.
Social media users shared the image alongside the Karina ad, saying the two campaigns together heightened concerns about the imagery.
One Threads user described the second image as doubling down on the symbolism, while another posted them side-by-side, writing: “There is NO REASON why WE should see an advertisement & immediately think of Strange Fruit by Billie Holiday.”
