Converse pulls 'deeply upsetting' advert after backlash (Page 1 of 4)
Posted: 9/19/2026 8:41:56 PM EDT
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Attached File American footwear brand Converse has pulled an advert that social media users said evoked Ku Klux Klan imagery, saying it recognised "that we got this wrong". The photo, posted to the company's Instagram account, received backlash online after critics described lighting in the image as looking like a white pointed hood. A pair of shoes, dangling in the picture, were also likened to an image of a lynching victim by social media users. In an apology, first issued on Friday, Converse said the photo had been removed from its social media channels and it was working to remove it elsewhere. "This should not have happened and we will do better," it said. The statement also said: "We're sorry. We understand why this image is deeply upsetting and recognize that we got this wrong". The photo was part of a campaign promoting its Chuck 70 X trainer, launched internationally on 27 August. The campaign features the South Korean singer Karina, of the K-pop group Aespa, who is pictured in a series of advertisements for the shoes Founded in Massachusetts in the early 1900s, the popularity of Converse has skyrocketed since its Chuck Taylor sneaker was first introduced to US basketball courts in 1917. The global brand has been a subsidiary of Nike since 2003. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crwyzj53pl1lo |
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| It's so frustrating when companies go along with the claims made by offended parties. Instead of saying "this shouldn't have happened" and "we got this wrong" they should say "Obviously, the offensive imagery that some people claim to see isn't actually there, but in the interest of shutting up all of you idiots our lawyers have advised us to go ahead and pull it anyway. [middle finger emoji]" |
Originally Posted By triburst1:
I just assumed it was an FBI or ATF surveillance op. Now I'm worried that it might be site staff.
I just assumed it was an FBI or ATF surveillance op. Now I'm worried that it might be site staff.
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Originally Posted By noob5000000: It's so frustrating when companies go along with the claims made by offended parties. Instead of saying "this shouldn't have happened" and "we got this wrong" they should say "Obviously, the offensive imagery that some people claim to see isn't actually there, but in the interest of shutting up all of you idiots our lawyers have advised us to go ahead and pull it anyway. [middle finger emoji]" Exactly. Idiots. |
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This was an ad campaign with one of the biggest kpop singers around right now  that's her holding the shoes Chuck 70 X Karina - Converse Discover the Chuck 70 X Karina, a creative collaboration with aespa's Karina that blends Converse heritage with her unique artistic expression.  |
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Originally Posted By mcantu: This was an ad campaign with one of the biggest kpop singers around right now that's her holding the shoes https://celebmafia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/aespa-s-karina-converse-korea-2024-10.jpg  At least Jennie's Adidas collab ballet shoes are complete redesigns and look different than other Adidas shoes 
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Always blame autocorrect.
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Originally Posted By Leisure_Shoot: they just look like plain old Chucks? Originally Posted By Leisure_Shoot: Originally Posted By mcantu: This was an ad campaign with one of the biggest kpop singers around right now that's her holding the shoes https://celebmafia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/aespa-s-karina-converse-korea-2024-10.jpg That you can get at Shoe Carnival all damned day. |
| I consider myself to be very conservative and not easily offended. That being said, when I saw the picture I thought it was someone dangling with a person wearing a white sheet beside them. Not sure what it is supposed to be but I can see how someone would see something bad. |
| I'll be honest, at first glance I see a pair of shoes dangling. Because of the lighting, the hand holding the shoes is not easy for me to see. So I do see someone hanging. However, my first thought is suicide, not lynching. Once I realize what it actually is, I have to laugh and question how warped my mind is. I am not going to blame the company for my shortcomings. It's not their fault I'm sick and twisted. |
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Is this like that nascar driver that said someone put a noose in a garage and the media ran with that but ignored the fact that it was a pull-rope to close said garage door? It's hilarious at this point that they find racisim around every corner and under their beds. |
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Originally Posted By Leisure_Shoot: When you let your cat on the counter a couple times, it suddenly thinks it's ok all the time. When you let imagined racism dictate advertising, imagined racism dictates advertising all the time. |
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It's all so intentional for attention. You think this brand gives a shit about any of it? No they just want more sales. Playing BOTH sides. At a certain point these old brands have to do something dramatic to gain attention/market share again. NO NEGATIVE PRESS IS BAD, EVER. You can literally call the people who buy your product stupid, AND THEY WILL STILL BUY FROM YOU. |
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Have an ad with Django unchained wearing the shoes. (In a 2012 monologue on late-night comedy show "Saturday Night Live," Jamie Foxx said, "I kill all the white people in the movie, how great is that?") |
So... I find comfort in the fact that if Trump has to work so hard to go to Heaven, then there is a shit load of Democrats that have no f-cking chance to go anywhere but HELL. Sometimes it is entirely appropriate to kill a fly with a sledge-hammer.
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Originally Posted By RogueYoda: Ya’ll should be in MS right now with all of these black panthers, new black panthers, black Israelites, etc running around. The folks that want to be offended are going to find a reason to be offended or make one up. They need it. It's their whole identity. Without all that "anger" they have no purpose. |
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Originally Posted By 0100010: https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRu2VAYy2WbYT29FlR7cfn34KeQED2uKVfVbj2aHhlw4B3iKqeYsmE_yA4&s=10 need some Pumas 
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I was born in Birkenhead and I was poor , I was dressed from the local army and navy store and I can tell you its no fun going to school dressed as a Japanese admiral-UKjohn
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Originally Posted By Leisure_Shoot: When you let your cat on the counter a couple times, it suddenly thinks it's ok all the time. When you let imagined racism dictate advertising, imagined racism dictates advertising all the time. nailed it they should have just ignored it |
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Originally Posted By 6EQUJ5: All the shoes are black, clearly an anti white message. If they reverse colored the image, would there still be a problem? |
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