Converse pulls Karina sneaker ad after backlash over KKK, lynching imagery

NEW DELHI: Converse has found itself in a rather uncomfortable sole-searching exercise after a global sneaker campaign featuring K-pop star Karina triggered accusations that its imagery evoked the Ku Klux Klan and lynching.

The Nike-owned footwear brand has removed the social media advertisement and apologised after the campaign drew widespread criticism online. The ad, part of the global promotion for its Chuck 70 X and Run Star Crush sneakers, featured Karina of aespa under a star-shaped spotlight.

The controversy centred on the composition of the image. Karina wore a long white skirt, while the lighting created a sharply defined triangular shape across the garment. Critics said the shape resembled the pointed white hood associated with the Ku Klux Klan, a US white supremacist organisation with a long history of racial violence.

The criticism did not stop there. Karina was also holding a pair of black high-top Converse sneakers by their laces. Some viewers said the dangling shoes, positioned beneath the hood-like shape created by the lighting, evoked the feet of a person hanging in a lynching.

The advertisement was posted on social media earlier this month as part of the campaign featuring Karina, who has been associated with Converse’s global campaign. The Chuck 70 X was launched globally on 27 August, according to reporting on the campaign.

As the image spread, criticism intensified, with some social media users calling for a boycott of Converse and demanding accountability from those involved in creating and approving the campaign. Others argued that the resemblance was unintentional and that the controversy stemmed from the way the lighting, styling and positioning came together in the final image.

The debate also widened after users circulated a separate Converse campaign featuring sneakers hanging from a tree. The additional imagery, linked in reports to another regional campaign, fuelled criticism that the brand had failed to consider how hanging shoes could be interpreted against the historical context of racial lynching in the US.

Facing the backlash, Converse removed the disputed material from its social media channels and said it was working to take it down wherever else it had appeared.

In its apology, the brand said: “We’re sorry. We understand why this image is deeply upsetting and recognise 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.”

The company has not provided details about the internal approval process behind the campaign. It also declined to answer questions about how its advertising is screened before publication and how the disputed image cleared the review process.

The episode puts the spotlight not just on the image itself, but also on the challenge global brands face when creative concepts travel across markets and cultures. For Converse, the campaign may have been designed around its familiar star motif, but the reaction shows how quickly visual associations can take on a very different meaning once they reach a worldwide audience.