Converse apologizes, pulls ad that critics say evokes KKK and lynching imagery
Converse shoes are seen in this 2022 file photo. Converse, a brand owned by Nike, has apologized and pulled a new ad after criticism the ad's imagery resembled a lynching. (Andrew Kelly/Reuters)Social SharingIt's been called disgusting, harrowing and racist.
Now, after intense backlash that included a U.S. congressman, several celebrities, marketing experts and a wide swath of the internet, Converse has pulled the sneaker ad critics have accused of evoking Ku Klux Klan imagery, and apologized.
"We're sorry," Converse, which is owned by Nike, said in a statement to CBC News Monday.
"We understand why this image is deeply upsetting and recognize that we got this wrong," Converse continued in the statement that was first released Friday.
"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 ad, posted on social media Sept. 3, showed a model — KPop singer Karina — holding a pair of Chuck 70 X high top sneakers. Many people have pointed out online that the lighting on Karina's skirt, which created a white triangle, resembles a KKK hood. And the placement of the sneakers made them look like dangling feet, evoking for many a lynching victim.
In this screengrab of a Threads post from Sept. 17, actor Yvette Nicole Brown criticizes an ad by shoe company Converse. (yvettenicolebrown/Threads)"That's a lynching, yes?" actor Yvette Nicole Brown wrote on Threads Thursday.
U.S. Rep. Troy Carter, in a lengthy statement Friday, called the ad "racist, reckless and deeply offensive."
"Nike and Converse, what the hell were you thinking?" he said.
Carter called on the companies to explain how the ad was approved, adding that an apology isn't enough. In doing so, he joined the chorus of other critics who allege that the imagery was obvious and wouldn't simply get missed without several levels of corporate failures.
"Do not insult our intelligence by dismissing this as an unfortunate misunderstanding. An advertising campaign does not just appear," he said.
"It is conceived, photographed, reviewed, approved and distributed. At every stage, someone had the opportunity — and the responsibility — to say no."
Converse's ad comes as the Southern U.S. grapples with several recent deaths involving Black people found hanging from trees.
Over the past two years, about a half-dozen Black women and men have been found hanged across the South. Police in some of those cases quickly deemed them suicides — often eliciting historically grounded skepticism when investigators provided limited evidence ruling out foul play.
As the Associated Press points out, for many Black people, the imagery of a rope and noose evokes the legacy of lynching and vigilante violence against Black people in the U.S. and brings with it deep pain and trauma.
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Converse's "apology doesn't undo what got past legal, marketing, and leadership at every step," Lee Merritt, a civil rights attorney based in Texas, posted on Instagram Friday.
"This wasn't hidden. It was styled, lit, and approved by a creative team. Someone signed off on this."
Several media outlets have reported that a second Converse ad posted by the brand's Malaysia Instagram account earlier this month depicted a man climbing a wooden ladder to reach a pair of shoes seen dangling from a tree, which critics have also said evoke lynching imagery.
CBC News has seen copies of images of the ad shared on social media, but not the original, so can't yet confirm. CBC has reached out to Converse for clarity on the second ad and not yet heard back.
Civil rights lawyer Lee Merritt criticized the ad in an Instagram post on Sept. 18. (@leemerittesq/Instagram)Racially insensitive ads in the spotlightSeveral companies and brands have come under fire lately for racially insensitive products and campaigns.
Last month, for instance, retailer Target pulled a children's Halloween costume from its shelves after widespread social media backlash, apologizing for selling a garment that critics said evoked racist minstrel caricatures.
Last year, American Eagle and actor Sydney Sweeney faced backlash for an ad campaign that was criticized for promoting white standards of beauty at best, and eugenics at worst. In the ad, Sweeney makes a play on words between jeans (the clothing item) and genes (the genetic material).
Gucci apologized in 2019 for a sweater accused of resembling blackface. In 2018, H&M apologized for its image of a Black boy in a sweatshirt that said "coolest monkey in the jungle." The year before, Dove said it "missed the mark" for a body wash commercial in which a Black woman lifts her shirt to reveal a white woman underneath.
Natalie Stechyson has been a writer and editor at CBC News since 2021. She covers stories on social trends, families, gender, human interest, as well as general news. She's worked as a journalist since 2009, with stints at the Globe and Mail and Postmedia News, among others. Before joining CBC News, she was the parents editor at HuffPost Canada, where she won a silver Canadian Online Publishing Award for her work on pregnancy loss. You can reach her at natalie.stechyson@cbc.ca.
