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Pepsi Controversy

Decent Essays

What if a drink could not only stop protests, but bring peace and harmony to those who drink it? Pepsi wanted to show the world that their product was said drink; however, a controversy broke out. During the Spring of 2017, a huge marketing blunder occurred when Pepsi released a commercial featuring Kendall Jenner. The commercial starts off with a model during a photo shoot, played by Kendall Jenner, who then walks outside while a peace protest goes on. She sees all of the people smiling and holding up signs saying “Peace” and “Love” when her attention goes to something else. At the protest, numerous police officers are on guard; ready to stop anyone who gets violent. In order to stop their intimidating presence, Jenner hands an officer a Pepsi soda (“Kendall Jenner…”). This one act single handedly brings everyone together in peace and harmony, but how does this advertisement cause controversy? The advertisement was released after multiple movements of the Black Lives Matter protest and riots. During these protests, many people got injured and some even killed while trying to stand up for what they believe in. The controversy deals with whether Pepsi intentionally made this commercial trying to use the serious movement to market their soda or if it was just a misinterpretation of an innocent advertisement. The advertisement can be seen trying to use the Black Lives Matter movement in order to sell their product, using the theme of protests and marches in a failed attempt to sell the drink. However, Pepsi refuses this and claims that the commercial had no intentions of using the movement to sell their product.
Amidst all of the backlash from the commercial, Pepsi worked on trying to fix the accusation that the commercial was trying to capitalize on the riots and protests happening. The advertisement shows no violent, or anything directly associating it with the Black Lives Matter movement. The protest shown is a peace protest with a message of love and harmony. It is very possible that the advertisement was just a misinterpretation. The Black Lives Matter movement does not relate to any protest that you see in media. Peace protests and marches have happened in the United States throughout history. The

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