Australian sunglasses brand Valley Eyewear has apologised and deleted its most recent advertising campaign, following international backlash over its use of a Croatian Holocaust memorial as a backdrop.

The Spomenik memorial at the site of the Jasenovac extermination camp, where more than 70,000 people were murdered by the Nazi-allied Croatian government during World War II, appeared in the background of photos and video shot for the eyewear brand's "Black Zero" collection.

Valley Eyewear pulled its ads showing the Jasenovac memorial as a backdrop. Credit:Valley Eyewear

Following international backlash, the Australian brand pulled the images from its website and social pages.

In a statement to Fairfax Media, Valley Eyewear director Michael Crawley said he had contacted the Jasenovac site and the head of the Australian Jewish Community to "offer our sincere apologies and to give our assurance that Valley Eyewear was completely unaware of the sensitivity of the sites in question".