Converse signs hang in front of their store at the Woodbury Common Premium Outlets shopping mall on November 17, 2019 in Central Valley, New York. (Photo by Gary Hershorn/Corbis via Getty Images)
Shoemaker Converse has apologized and pulled a social media ad after it sparked a backlash from people who said the image evoked the Ku Klux Klan and lynching.
The backstory:
The Instagram advertisement featured the singer Karina, a member of the K-pop group Aespa, wearing a skirt and holding a pair of Chuck 70 X sneakers as a star-shaped light was cast on the scene. Four of the star’s arms reflected off the ground, while the fifth shone off the skirt.
Critics blasted the image, saying the white triangular shape created by the fifth arm on the skirt looked similar to a KKK hood and the way the shoes were being held made them resemble the dangling feet of a lynching victim.
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What they’re saying:
“We’re sorry,” said the statement. “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.”
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Converse, which issued the apology on Friday, declined to answer follow-up questions Sunday from the Associated Press regarding how ads are screened before being used and the approval process for this ad. The AP also reached out to Karina and her management company, SM Entertainment Group, but did not get a reply.
Big picture view:
The advertisement led to calls for the people involved in creating it to be fired or for a boycott against the company, which is owned by Nike. Some commenters online also wondered how the ad could have made it through the approval process. Others defended the brand, arguing that the imagery was likely not intentional.
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