Pepsi has quickly pulled an ad with Kendall Jenner, after it became the center of a social media storm.
In the ad, Jenner leaves a photo shoot to join in with a group of protesters. She then comes face-to-face with a police officer, to whom she hands a Pepsi. The blank-faced officer then cracks a smile.
The ad, part of the soda company’s “moments” campaign, was quickly criticized on social media of accusations of appropriating the Black Lives Matter movement and the fight for social and racial equality.
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Pepsi said it was “trying to project a global message of unity, peace and understanding” in the ad, which launched Tuesday.
“We did not intend to make light of any serious issue,” Pepsi said in a statement, before adding it is removing it and any further rollout. Pepsi also apologized for putting Jenner “in this position.”
Social media users drew comparison to a photo of Ieshia Evans, a black protester who was detained by law enforcement during a protest in Baton Rouge following the fatal police shooting of Alton Sterling.
Kendall Jenner: Can I copy off of you?
Iesha Evans: No.
Kendall:* Looks over shoulder anyway*
Damn that. I’m getting this Pepsi money. pic.twitter.com/NUXwCZnM7p— The ‘You Can Catch These Hands’ Progressive (@GuruBluXVIII) April 4, 2017
Pepsi first described the ad as “Jump In,” a “short film about the moments when we decide to let go, choose to act, follow our passion and nothing holds us back.”
“Kendall please! Give him a Pepsi!” pic.twitter.com/IntFNmCpTr
— Zito (@_Zeets) April 4, 2017
I have so many questions, @KendallJenner & @pepsi. First of all, how dare you.
— THE HOOD ORACLE (@MADBLACKTHOT) April 5, 2017
If I had carried Pepsi I guess I never would’ve gotten arrested. Who knew?
— deray (@deray) April 5, 2017
can you believe kendall jenner solved all the black lives matter issues by giving a pepsi to a cop? inspiring.
— Danii G (@gerbatron) April 4, 2017
Perhaps the most poignant tweet came from Bernice King, youngest child of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King. Her Tuesday tweet with a photo of her father quickly went viral, and comes just a day after the anniversary of his assassination.
If only Daddy would have known about the power of #Pepsi. pic.twitter.com/FA6JPrY72V
— Be A King (@BerniceKing) April 5, 2017
Jenner — who has yet to comment on the controversy — is the first model to have a global Pepsi campaign since Cindy Crawford’s commercial in 1992.
