Ad withdrawn after online backlash
American footwear brand Converse has removed an advertisement from its Instagram account after social media users said the image evoked Ku Klux Klan imagery. Critics described the lighting in the photo as resembling a white pointed hood, while a pair of shoes dangling in the picture were likened by users to an image of a lynching victim. The company said the photo had been taken down from its social media channels and that it was working to remove it elsewhere.[S1]
In an apology first issued on Friday, Converse said it recognized that it got this wrong and that the image was deeply upsetting. The statement added that the situation should not have happened and that the brand would do better. The photo was part of a campaign promoting the Chuck 70 X trainer, which launched internationally on 27 August.[S1]
Campaign featured K-pop singer Karina
Karina, a vocalist from the South Korean K-pop act Aespa, is the face of the campaign, appearing in multiple promotional images for the footwear. Converse traces its origins to Massachusetts in the early 1900s, and demand surged once the Chuck Taylor sneaker reached US basketball courts in 1917. Since 2003, the worldwide label has operated as part of Nike.[S1]
