Pepsi Faces Backlash Over “Tone-deaf” Kendall Jenner Advert

Kendall Jenner and the sugary drinks corporation Pepsi are being accused of 'exploiting the Black Lives Matter movement' in a new advertisement.

In it, Jenner cheerfully leaves a photoshoot and finds herself amongst a diverse group of protesters rallying for love and peace.

She quickly makes her way to the front line, approaches a uniformed police officer and unreluctantly hands him a can of Pepsi.

The officer smiles, nods to his colleagues and the crowd cheers.

The ad very closely mirrors the reality of recent protests triggered by police violence against Black people in America.

Pepsi posted the ad on its YouTube channel and Jenner promoted the video on her personal Twitter account Tuesday.

Since then, many Twitter users have used humor to criticize the ad. These tweets include images of recent as well as Civil Rights era protests in which participants were maced, attacked or arrested. The captions include some variation of "Kendall, please! Give him a Pepsi!".

Some have suggested the ad looks similar to a picture of Leshia Evans, who was charged by riot police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 2016.

In a statement, Pepsi said:

"This is a global ad that reflects people from different walks of life coming together in a spirit of harmony.

"We think that's an important message to convey."

Kendall is yet to comment.

In 1971, Coca-Cola made a similar advert based on the Vietnam War.

You can watch the advert via this link:

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

UPDATE: Pepsi have now pulled the ad from their campaigns.

Loren Williams
OBV Intern