A new Pepsi ad featuring Kendal Jenner has been branded the “worst commercial ever,” and it’s not exactly difficult to see why. Starring Jenner, a woman who practically embodies privilege, leading a diverse group of ethnic, religious and sexual minorities to peace like a socialite Moses, the commercial has been called out for being simultaneously incredibly offensive and blissfully ignorant.
Proving the old adage that “no pass is bad press” wrong, Pepsi has now been forced to pull the ad and apologize, issuing a statement in which the company said that it was “trying to project a global message of unity, peace and understanding” but that it had “missed the mark.” Yeah, Pepsi, you think?
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While the ad has been removed from Pepsi’s official channel, the internet never forgets so here it is in all its glory:
So why has this ad struck such a bum note with viewers? Let’s take a look at the 4 very worst things about it:
Kendall Jenner
We live in politically divisive times, but it’s nothing that can’t be solved by Kendall Jenner and a can of sugar. Jenner, who is shown taking part in a photo shoot while a huge protest takes place nearby because she’s a busy woman and that shit can’t be postponed, is the key to building a bridge between the swathes of inexplicably happy protesters and the surly policemen who block their path. Taking off her blonde wig and wiping off her lip stick, Jenner joins the fray, handing a Delicious Can of Pepsi™ to one of the cops before rejoining the raucous crowd, who celebrate arm in arm as prejudice is finally brought to an end. Kim may have a super successful mobile game, but Kendall just defeated racism.
The protest
Which conversation am I supposed to join, absurdly smug sign-holding lady? The conversation that’s taking place right now online about how awful this commercial is? Considering that many people can’t even be bothered to get out of bed and vote these days, it’s out of the realms of possibility that someone could have organized a protest seemingly devoted to nothing else other than liking stuff and disliking bad things. Take a look at the sign at the top left there, with a heart printed above a censor sign. What does that even mean? Love triumphs over undisclosed acts of censorship? And what about the homogeneous protesters themselves, all clad in different shades of Pepsi blue to let you know that while they really care about The Issues, they still love its cool, refreshing taste.
Pepsi
Pepsi is known worldwide as the drink you get served at a bar or restaurant when they don’t have Coke, which is basically all of the time. If Pepsi had a truthful tagline, it would be “Well It Wouldn’t Be My First Choice, But I Guess It’ll Do.” Coca-Cola has always been known for its diverse marketing, in which it regularly celebrates people of all different backgrounds, colors and creeds, bringing them together in celebrating of an unhealthy carbonated soft drink. Seriously, they’ve been doing this shit since 1971:
In order to distinguish themselves from their age-old rivals, a head honcho at Pepsi apparently thought “let’s take what makes Coke adverts so popular, but shoot them as though they are being depicted by someone who has spent the past five years of political discourse inside a sealed container, buried somewhere beneath the Pacific Ocean.” Needless to say, it doesn’t help.
This policeman’s smile
I don’t know whether it was Pepsi’s intention for the nondescript protest in the ad to draw parallels to the Black Lives Matter movement, but it’s not difficult to see why people are making comparisons. The protesters are mostly made up of minorities, while the preventative force at the end of their jubilant march into nothingness is a barricade of policemen, with protesting against racism in US policing being one of the core tenets of BLM.
Black Lives Matter may have spent their time campaigning and protesting against discrimination, but Kendall Jenner has proven that all you need is to be a white woman holding a can of Pepsi to put an end to police brutality. I mean, look at this policeman’s smile. There’s a guy who’s thinking “man, I sure do dislike minorities, but I simply can’t resist taking a sip of this delicious Pepsi™.”
But while Pepsi may have been forced to pull the ad and apologize for inflicting our eyes with it, at least it made people of every background briefly come together and agree on one thing: whoever gave this mess the green light should take a long, hard look in the mirror.
