Kendall Jenner Pepsi ad not a gas

Pepsi this week said it was dropping an ad featuring model Kendall Jenner that appeared to use the #BlackLivesMatter protests to promote the brand.

The advert provoked an outcry and widespread derision on social media, claiming Pepsi was seeking to profit from the social justice movement.

“Pepsi was trying to project a global message of unity, peace and understanding. Clearly we missed the mark, and we apologise,” the Pepsico unit said in a statement.

“We did not intend to make light of any serious issue. We are removing the content and halting any further rollout. We also apologise for putting Kendall Jenner in this position.”

In the spot, Jenner — daughter of the transgender television personality Caitlyn Jenner and half-sister of reality TV star Kim Kardashian — is seen walking through a street protest and handing a can of Pepsi to a police officer, to cheers from the crowd.

Among those mocking the ad was Bernice King, daughter of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr, who tweeted: “If only Daddy would have known about the power of #Pepsi”, with a picture of her father being pushed by a police officer.

Other social media users also found the ad in poor taste. Some said the final scene evoked an image from the #BlackLivesMatter movement when a female nurse walked up to a line of police officers in Louisiana.

“Could you be any more blatant with the disrespect and appropriation of a movement, @pepsi? Is this a sick joke?!” one tweet said. Another read: “Can’t believe Kendall Jenner just solved institutionalised racism and oppression by giving a cop a Pepsi. Groundbreaking.” — AFP