Cyrus Langhorne
Soda giant Pepsi is swallowing its pride. The company has issued a formal apology for its controversial Kendall Jenner-starring new commercial.
Pepsi has publicly apologized to Jenner and promised to remove the controversial ad.
Hours prior, the ad went viral and showed Jenner using a Pepsi can to bring peace to a protest.
The ad shows Jenner, 21, ditching her high-fashion photo shoot to join the masses and then appearing to bring an end to the protest by sharing a Pepsi with a police officer. When the officer drinks the Pepsi, the crowd erupts in applause. A description of the ad on Pepsi Global’s YouTube channel describes the commercial as “a short film about the moments when we decide to let go, choose to act, follow our passion and nothing holds us back.” (ABC News)
The ad immediately sparked widespread outrage from social media users over Pepsi’s bad taste in jacking the Black Lives Matter movement for profits.
I'm boycotting all @Pepsi products until they apologize for this blasphemy. Here's a list of their brands: https://t.co/9Rf91nLVyX pic.twitter.com/HsvUvj27Bl
— Charles M. Blow (@CharlesMBlow) April 5, 2017
https://twitter.com/1942bs/status/849399780677742592
shocked + confused why @pepsi and @KendallJenner EVER thought this would be an effective/powerful ad campaign. Tasteless and offensive
— Megan (@megan6786) April 5, 2017
https://twitter.com/JosephKahn/status/849409604433870848
The new @pepsi ad with @KendallJenner is stupefyingly diabolical.
Absurd, PC-crazed, virtue-signalling, snowflake claptrap. pic.twitter.com/SA9RRanGNo— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) April 4, 2017
https://twitter.com/JessicaChobot/status/849464488449454080
This Pepsi ad is so unrealistic. Those protesters would have been Dr. Pepper Sprayed. https://t.co/oNjjtm6eFu
— Stephen Colbert (@StephenAtHome) April 5, 2017
https://twitter.com/Kelsiekinss/status/849382343508987905
Could you be any more blatant with the disrespect and appropriation of a movement, @pepsi? Is this a sick joke?! pic.twitter.com/8NS8ynJUdj
— Taryn Finley (@_TARYNitUP) April 4, 2017
Pepsi initially came forward to defend its controversial ad.
A Pepsi spokesperson said in an emailed statement: “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 important message to convey.” (CNBC)
