Pepsi
Kendall Jenner's Pepsi ad
The ad, posted to YouTube on Tuesday, shows attractive young people holding milquetoast signs with nonspecific pleas like “Join the conversation.” The protesters are uniformly smiling, laughing, clapping, hugging and high-fiving. In the climactic scene, Jenner is seen participating in a photo shoot and becomes distracted by a group of protesters. She decides to join them, and toward the end, comes face-to-face with a stoic police officer. She offers him a Pepsi and he accepts the drink with appreciative grin.
Criticism
The ad was quickly accused of appropriating the Black Lives Matter movement and using social justice to sell soda.
The imagery was also thought by some to be far too similar to photos of Ieshia Evans, a protester who was detained by law enforcement while protesting in Baton Rouge following the shooting death of Alton Sterling at the hands of police.[1]
Commentators on social media accused Pepsi of appropriating imagery from serious protests to sell its product, while minimizing the danger protesters encounter and the frustration they feel. While Elle Hearns, the executive director of the Marsha P. Johnson Institute and formerly an organizer for Black Lives Matter, said the ad plays down the sacrifices people have historically taken in utilizing protests. “No one is finding joy from Pepsi at a protest,” she said. “That’s just not the reality of our lives. That’s not what it looks like to take bold action.”[2]
Clarification
Pepsi has apologized for a controversial advertisement that borrowed imagery from the Black Lives Matter movement, after a day of intense criticism from people who said it trivialized the widespread protests against the killings of black people by the police.
“Pepsi was trying to project a global message of unity, peace and understanding. Clearly, we missed the mark and apologize,” the company said in a statement on Wednesday. “We did not intend to make light of any serious issue. We are pulling the content and halting any further rollout.”[3]
In a statement to CNN, Pepsi said: "This is a global ad that reflects people from different walks of life coming together in a spirit of harmony, and we think that's an import message to convey."
Kendall Jenner has not weighed in on the backlash.
References
- ↑ Gonzalez, Sandra (2017). Kendall Jenner's Pepsi ad sparks backlash. Retrieved on December 25, 2020.
- ↑ Victor, Daniel (2017). Pepsi Pulls Ad Accused of Trivializing Black Lives Matter. Retrieved on December 25, 2020.
- ↑ Victor, Daniel (2017). Pepsi Pulls Ad Accused of Trivializing Black Lives Matter. Retrieved on December 25, 2020.