Converse pulls Karina ad after viewers spot a disturbing resemblance in the campaign image

Converse has pulled a campaign image featuring aespa’s Karina after viewers noticed a disturbing resemblance in the photograph. The company apologized Friday after critics said the image evoked the Ku Klux Klan and lynching imagery, saying it understood why the photograph was “deeply upsetting” and acknowledged that it “got this wrong.”

At first glance, the photograph is a fashion campaign featuring Karina, a white skirt and two black Converse sneakers. However, the lighting and positioning create a pointed white shape above the shoes, leading some viewers to see something much more disturbing in the composition.

The situation has become more complicated since people began pointing to another recent Converse campaign image with its own combination of elements that they said evoked lynching imagery. Here is what happened and what Converse has said about both photographs.

The Karina photo looked very different once people noticed the details

The controversial photograph was part of Converse’s global Chuck 70 X campaign featuring Karina. She is standing inside a large Converse star while wearing a voluminous white skirt and holding two black sneakers at her side.

The lighting makes part of the skirt form a large, pointed white shape. Karina’s partially obscured arm makes the shoes look like they hang beneath the white shape, prompting viewers to compare the composition to a KKK hood above a hanging figure.

View on Threads

There is no indication that Converse intended the photograph to reference the KKK or lynching. The company did not say that those references were part of the campaign’s concept. Instead, Converse acknowledged the reaction and said it should not have published the image.

“We’re sorry,” the company said in a statement to Footwear News, “We understand why this image is deeply upsetting and recognize that we got this wrong.” Converse said it removed the image from its channels and was working to remove it everywhere it appeared.

The cleanup was not immediate everywhere. The Washington Post reported that Converse still had the image on its Philippines website, while Footwear News found it on the company’s Threads account when it published its story.

The campaign was also relatively new. Converse launched the Chuck 70 X globally on August 27 and posted the Karina photograph to its Threads account on September 3.

Then people found another recent Converse image

The controversy might have remained focused on the Karina photograph if viewers had not also started circulating another recent Converse campaign image. The second photograph came from Converse’s collaboration with Copenhagen-based label Palmes, which released the image on September 14.

It shows a man climbing a ladder near a tree while holding a pair of sneakers, with another person visible in the background. Viewers said the tree, ladder, and hanging shoes created another association with lynching imagery.

View on Threads

The two photographs come from separate campaigns, so the similarities do not establish that either was intentionally referencing racial violence. Still, the second image added another layer to the backlash just as Converse was dealing with criticism of the Karina campaign.

For now, Converse has apologized and removed the Karina photograph from its channels. The company has not publicly explained who created or approved the image, leaving the circumstances behind the campaign’s visual choices unclear.

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