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Kendall Jenner In Pepsi Ad Shut Down By Bernice King & Other Memes That Prove How Tasteless It Was

By Ester Antonio
Published on: 19:00 PST, Apr 5, 2017

Kendall Jenner has been under scrutiny after starring in Pepsi’s all-new commercial that “aims” to empower the minority. Apparently, it failed.

Even though Jenner and Pepsi Co. both received a lot of negative feedback on social media, it was not until Martin Luther King Jr.’s daughter spoke out on the issue that the weight of the issue really settled in.

Bernice King took to Twitter to show her thoughts on Kendall Jenner’s take on the new Pepsi revolution. She sarcastically said that if her father could have only known how powerful Pepsi is, he would have used that in his time.

According to Mic, Pepsi’s campaign video called “Live For Moments Anthem” was a failed representation of “America’s current, volatile political climate.”

The clip shows people marching down the road with poster boards with “vague messages of unity.” The ad seemed to have intentionally went this way to avoid too much scrutiny—but they did miss the goal.

Shedding her blonde wig on the new Pepsi commercial. [Photo Screengrab from Pepsi Global/YouTube]

The overview of the concept seemed simple: there is a protest, the younger generation joins in, Kendall Jenner shares a Pepsi with a police man and et voila, peace.

However, just as Mic mentioned, the “devil’s in the details.” There is a protest, but nobody knows what the exact message is. There is street dancing and everybody was happy.

The overview of the concept seemed simple: there is a protest, the younger generation joins in, Kendall Jenner shares a Pepsi with a policeman and et voila, peace.

However, just as Mic mentioned, the “devil’s in the details.” There is a protest, but nobody knows what the exact message is. There is street dancing and everybody was happy.

Model Kendall Jenner sits at the runway for the Marc Jacobs Fall 2017 Show at Park Avenue Armory on February 16, 2017 in New York City. [Image by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images for Marc Jacobs]

According to Mashable, the move was also self-serving.

“The next time you’re thinking of appropriating a major social justice movement to help market your #brand, take a minute. Ask yourself what you’re doing and if it’ll get you in trouble, and not just because you’re worried about your stock price.”

The take on the protest was also an incentive one for people of color. In 1984, Pepsi did a classic Michael Jackson commercial which seemed to have captured the hearts of the fans. Still, there has to be some careful planning when brands like Pepsi would try to approach social issues like these.

“Corporations need to be exceptionally sensitive in how they advertise to marginalized communities. Their marketing should be responsible, catering to diverse communities across race and nationality without exploiting them.”

As for social media, they did not hold back. According to Washington Post, the memes just justified how the ad did not only fall flat, they also appropriated “serious political and social-justice movements to sell soda.”

Here are some memes that highlight real protestsand other witty takes on Kendall Jenner’s Pepsi ad.

As for Pepsi, they released a statement pulling back the ad and stopping the campaign.

“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.”

Even though Pepsi already apologized and pulled the plug on the campaign, Kendall Jenner is staying silent amidst everything.

Last March 30, Kendall Jenner tweeted a photo of another veteran model featured in a Pepsi ad with caption, “goals.” This maybe the time when Pepsi was just about to release their video starring the model.

Since then, the reality star has not commented on the issue and is reportedly avoiding the press on the matter.

See the full Pepsi ad below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=144&v=dA5Yq1DLSmQ

[Feature Image by Tristan Fewings/Getty Images]

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