Leading global footwear brand Converse has moved swiftly to remove a promotional Instagram post after widespread public outrage over accusations that the graphic contained imagery echoing the white-supremacist Ku Klux Klan. The controversial image, created to market the company’s newly launched Chuck 70 X trainer line, sparked immediate backlash across social media platforms when users spotted what they interpreted as a white pointed KKK hood formed by the lighting in the shot. Critics further amplified their condemnation by noting that the pair of sneakers dangling in the composition bore a disturbing resemblance to imagery associated with the lynchings of Black people carried out by the KKK, a violent hate group with a long history of terror against marginalized communities in the United States.
In a formal public apology first released on Friday, the footwear giant acknowledged its misstep and confirmed that the problematic photo had already been taken down from all its official social media channels. The brand added that it was also coordinating to remove the advertisement from any third-party platforms where it may have been reposted. “We’re sorry. We understand why this image is deeply upsetting and recognize that we got this wrong,” the statement read. “This should not have happened and we will do better.”
The advertisement was part of a broader international campaign launched on August 27, which featured Karina, a high-profile South Korean singer from the popular K-pop group aespa, as the face of the new trainer line. Karina appeared in a series of promotional visuals for the product rollout.
Founded in Massachusetts in the early 1900s, Converse has grown from a small footwear manufacturer to one of the most recognizable sneaker brands in the world. Its iconic Chuck Taylor sneaker line, first introduced to U.S. basketball courts in 1917, propelled the brand to global fame, and it has operated as a subsidiary of sportswear giant Nike since 2003. This incident marks one of the most high-profile brand missteps related to insensitive imagery in recent years, highlighting the growing scrutiny companies face over the content of their marketing campaigns in the age of social media.