Latest Pepsi Ad Receives Media Backlash

After failing to achieve an influential message in a recent ad, Pepsi has received negative commentary across every social media platform imaginable.

The Pepsi ad, which made its debut on April 4th, features reality star and model Kendall Jenner during one of her photoshoots. After glancing out the window to find hundreds of people marching past the building, she decides to leave the shoot and join the crowd to participate in this so-called “protest.” Evidently, this protest has no real purpose- it glamorizes the harsh and often devastating events that have taken place at historic protests years ago and even still today. Protesters in the mob are holding up signs depicting peace signs and hearts, smiling from ear to ear and dancing along with the performers gathered on the sidewalks nearby. Music is playing, food is being distributed and the participants, who should naturally seem infuriated and driven by a purpose to protest, are relaxed and friendly to the other protesters. As the mob approaches a line of police officers, Jenner makes her big scene- she marches up to an officer, hands him a can of Pepsi, and cheers along with the crowd when he takes a sip.

Quite obviously, watchers across the country reacted negatively and took the ad to offense. Sarcastically claiming that the ad “achieved world peace” and “solved the Black Lives Matter protest” both Jenner and the soda company received scrutiny for days following the premier of the commercial until Pepsi was forced to remove the ad from the media altogether. A statement made by the company’s Twitter reads “Pepsi was trying to project a global message of unity, peace and understanding. Clearly we missed the mark, and we apologize. We did not intend to make light of any serious issue. We are removing the content and halting any further rollout. We also apologize for putting Kendall Jenner in this position.” Jenner never made a comment about the commercial.