Converse confirms ad removal on Sept 21 amid KKK comparisons
Converse apologised for the Chuck 70 X ad featuring aespa’s Karina after critics said it evoked Ku Klux Klan and lynching imagery.
- Converse confirmed on September 21 that it was withdrawing an advertisement after it drew comparisons to the Ku Klux Klan (KKK).
- Critics on social media argued the ad's imagery, featuring a white robe-like garment and dangling black trainers, evoked KKK attire and lynchings of Black people.
- In response to the backlash, the company issued an apology for the "deeply upsetting" image and promised its complete removal.
- The controversial ad was for the Chuck 70 X shoe, a collaboration with Karina from the K-pop group aespa.
Converse has withdrawn an advertisement and apologised after critics said it evoked the white supremacist Ku Klux Klan (KKK) and lynchings of Black people. The Nike-owned footwear brand confirmed its response to ABC News on Monday (September 21).
The withdrawn advertisement promoted Converse’s Chuck 70 X shoe in collaboration with Karina of K-pop group aespa. The campaign drew a backlash on social media during the week before ABC News’s September 21 report.
“We’re sorry. We understand why this image is deeply upsetting and recognize that we got this wrong,” Converse said in its statement to ABC News. Converse said it was seeking removal everywhere the image appeared and promised to do better.
Converse’s apology was first released on September 18, according to the Associated Press.
Critics compare Converse photograph to Klan and lynching imagery
The Converse photograph showed a person’s lower half in a white, calf-length, skirt-like garment, holding black trainers in one hand at their side. Critics said the clothing resembled a KKK robe.
Critics also said the photograph’s lighting made the trainers resemble the dangling feet of a lynching victim, while a triangular shape on the white garment recalled the pointed top of a Klan hood.
Merritt and Carter question Converse campaign approval
Civil rights lawyer Lee Merritt, who represented Ahmaud Arbery’s family, said companies should identify such problems before advertisements appear, rather than apologise afterwards. Arbery was a Black man fatally shot by three white men while jogging in Georgia in February 2020.
US Representative Troy Carter, a Louisiana Democrat, rejected suggestions that the imagery was creative or artistic. “Black pain is not a marketing prop. Lynching is not a creative concept. The Ku Klux Klan is not an aesthetic,” Carter said.
Converse and Nike did not immediately answer Reuters’ requests for further comment outside business hours. ABC News contacted Karina’s representatives, while Reuters said it could not immediately reach the singer.
