Converse has been branded a 'dying brand' online after a controversial advertisement for its Chuck 70 X sneaker sparked accusations that its imagery evoked a Ku Klux Klan robe and a hanging body. The campaign, featuring aespa star Karina, was quickly removed after social media users condemned what they described as disturbing references to America's history of racial violence.
The backlash has raised questions about how the image passed through the company's creative and approval processes, while Converse has apologised and acknowledged that it 'got this wrong.' There is no evidence establishing that the imagery was intentionally designed to reference the KKK or lynching, but the resemblance has nevertheless become the centre of the controversy.
