Converse, the storied American sneaker brand, has issued a public apology after an advertising campaign was met with swift condemnation for imagery critics described as evoking racist tropes. The episode is a familiar one in the modern commercial landscape — a reminder that what a brand intends to say and what the world hears can be separated by a vast and consequential distance. In an age when cultural memory is long and social media is fast, the cost of that gap is measured not only in reputation but in trust.