Converse Pulls Ad and Apologizes After Backlash Over KKK-Linked Imagery, ABC News Reports

Sept. 21 (Reuters) – Nike-owned Converse has pulled an advertisement and apologized after a public backlash last week over imagery that critics said evoked the Ku Klux Klan and the lynching of Black Americans, ABC News reported on Monday.

The ad, which is no longer available on any of Converse’s social media accounts, showed the lower half of a person wearing a white, calf-length skirt-like garment that resembled a KKK robe. The person was holding black sneakers.

Some social media users said the lighting made the black sneakers appear to be suspended in the air, as if someone were hanging beside the robed figure. They also pointed to shadows on the white garment that formed a triangular shape resembling the peak of a KKK hood.

The controversy lands at a sensitive moment for brands navigating racial imagery and online backlash. The KKK, a white supremacist group, has a long history of violence against Black Americans, including lynchings, and symbols associated with it remain among the most charged in U.S. advertising and popular culture.

“We’re sorry. We understand why this image is deeply upsetting and recognize that we got this wrong,” Converse said in a statement to ABC News. “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.”

Converse and parent company Nike did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment outside regular business hours. Karina could not immediately be reached for comment.

The images were part of a campaign promoting Converse’s Chuck 70 X sneaker, created in collaboration with K-pop singer Karina of the group Aespa.

Reporting by Devika Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonali Paul.