Converse pulls 'deeply upsetting' ad after critics blast 'racist' imagery
The ad was criticised after social media users said the lighting resembled a white Ku Klux Klan hood
Converse has pulled an advert after critics claimed it evoked Ku Klux Klan imagery, saying it understands why people found the image "deeply upsetting".
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The ad, posted to the company's Instagram account, was criticised after social media users said the lighting on the skirt created the shape of a white KKK hood.
Critics also likened the way the shoes were held in the ad to the dangling feet of a lynching victim.
Converse apologised on Friday, saying the photo had been taken down from its social media platforms and would be removed elsewhere.
The statement also said: "We understand why this image is deeply upsetting and recognize that we got this wrong.
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"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."
The Boston-based company, which is owned by Nike, declined on Sunday to answer questions seeking additional information, including how the company screens ads before they are posted and how the ad was approved.
The ad was released on 27 August as part of a campaign to promote its Chuck 70 X trainer, which features South Korean singer Karina, of K-pop group Aespa.
Lee Merritt, a Texas-based civil rights attorney, posted on Instagram that the brand's apology “doesn’t undo what got past legal, marketing and leadership at every step”.
“We keep having this conversation because corporations keep failing the same test,” he said. “Do better means catching this before it airs – not after we’re offended.”
Converse, founded in Malden, Massachusetts, in 1908, makes the Chuck Taylor All Star sneaker.
It was acquired as a subsidiary of Nike in 2003.