Converse apologizes and pulls sneaker ad that critics said included racist imagery

The sneaker company Converse has removed a social media ad that sparked outrage among critics who viewed it as evoking the Ku Klux Klan and lynching.

The Instagram ad photo showed K-pop singer Karina wearing a skirt and holding a pair of Chuck 70 X sneakers. Critics lashed out online, saying that a white triangular image created by lighting on the skirt resembled a KKK hood and that the way she held the sneakers made them look like the dangling feet of a lynching victim.

Converse, owned by Nike, issued a statement apologizing and saying it removed the ad.

“We’re sorry,” said the statement, first released on Friday. “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.”

Converse, based in Boston, 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.

Karina and her management company, SM Entertainment Group, did not immediately respond to messages through their Instagram accounts.

Retailers and top fashion brands have issued a string of apologies over the years for products criticized as being racially insensitive.

Last month, 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.

The Converse photo sparked swift criticism, including calls for staff involved in the ad to be fired and for a boycott of the company. In a slew of comments on social media, posters questioned how the ad could have cleared the company’s advertising vetting process. Other commenters defended Converse, saying they didn’t believe it was intentional.

Lee Merritt, a civil rights attorney based in Texas, posted on Instagram that Converse’s apology “doesn’t undo what got past legal, marketing and leadership at every step.”

Converse, founded in Malden, Massachusetts, in 1908, makes the iconic Chuck Taylor All Star sneaker. It was first released in 1917 as a non-skid basketball shoe, adding the signature of Taylor — a basketball player who promoted the sneaker — in 1934, according to the company’s website.

运动鞋公司匡威撤下了一则社交媒体广告，该广告引发了批评人士的强烈抗议，他们认为该广告让人联想到三K党和私刑。

Instagram上的广告照片显示，韩国流行歌手Karina身穿裙子，手持一双Chuck 70 X运动鞋。批评人士在网上猛烈抨击，称裙子上由灯光形成的白色三角形图案酷似三K党头罩，而她拿鞋的姿势则让人联想到被私刑处死的受害者悬空的双脚。

耐克旗下的匡威公司发表声明道歉，并表示已撤下该广告。

“我们深感抱歉，”这份于周五首次发布的声明中写道。“我们理解这张图片为何会令您深感不安，并承认我们犯了错误。我们已将其从我们的渠道删除，并正在努力将其从所有出现过的地方删除。这本不应该发生，我们会做得更好。”

总部位于波士顿的匡威公司周日拒绝回答有关该公司如何审核广告以及广告如何获得批准等问题，以获取更多信息。

Karina 和她的经纪公司 SM Entertainment Group 没有立即回复通过 Instagram 账号发送的消息。

多年来，零售商和顶级时尚品牌已就一些被批评为种族歧视的产品发表了一系列道歉声明。

上个月，零售商 Target 在社交媒体上遭到广泛抨击后，将一款儿童万圣节服装下架，并为出售这款被批评人士称为带有种族主义色彩的滑稽剧服装而道歉。

匡威的这张照片迅速引发了批评，包括要求解雇参与广告制作的员工以及抵制该公司。社交媒体上涌现出大量评论，质疑这则广告是如何通过公司广告审核流程的。另一些评论者则为匡威辩护，称他们不认为这是故意的。

德克萨斯州民权律师李·梅里特在 Instagram 上发帖称，匡威的道歉“无法弥补法律、营销和领导层在每个环节都犯下的错误”。

匡威公司于1908年在马萨诸塞州莫尔登市创立，生产标志性的Chuck Taylor All Star运动鞋。据该公司网站介绍，这款鞋最初于1917年作为防滑篮球鞋推出，并于1934年加上了篮球运动员泰勒的签名——泰勒曾是这款运动鞋的推广者。