NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Athletic footwear giant Nike got a lesson in punk rock power recently with a promotion that looked a little too familiar to diehard fans of an 80's punk rock band known to be nonconformist, according to a report Monday.

To promote a skateboarding tour it sponsored called "Major Threat," Nike designed a flier and online ad last month that bore a strong similarity to an album cover for the band Minor Threat, according to The New York Times.

The ads both angered and confused Minor Threat's fan base. The band is known to be anti-corporate and wary of convention. Fans were reportedly either shocked at the apparently sellout by Minor Threat or outraged that Nike would have the gall to swipe the band's image.

Turns out, Nike (Research) had used the image without the band's permission, according to the Times. The company pulled the flier and posted an apology on its skateboarding site after the music site Pitchfork criticized Nike for the promotion.

Nike simply said that the employees "responsible for the creation of the tour flier are fans of both Minor Threat and Dischord records," a record company co-owned by the band's lead singer.

Alec Bourgeois, a Dischord employee, told the paper the bank and the record label may take legal action against Nike.

"We got inundated with e-mails saying 'Sue Nike,'" Bourgeois told the Times. "We're flattered by the outrage. I don't think Nike understood that people care so much about this ethos."

The Times noted that the dustup comes at a time when music artists and actors are increasingly lending their names to corporate advertising. Bob Dylan, for instance, pitched for lingerie chain Victoria's Secret.

The image at the center of the controversy features a bald man sitting on a step, with his head resting on his folded arms. In the Minor Threat album cover, the man is wearing nondescript shoes. In Nike's image, he is wearing the company's sneakers.

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