Pepsi’s latest advertisement, starring Kendall Jenner, received a variety of reactions from the public. If you haven’t heard about this huge advertising fail, well you’ve probably been living under a rock. Both the actress and soda company were accused of making light of the Black Lives Matter movement while also using social justice to sell the Pepsi brand.
The advertisement received the obvious backlash that one would expect to occur. Beginning on April 4th, the #pepsiad has been trending on Twitter with references to racism and ignorance.
Drink water.
It's cheaper, doesn't rot your teeth, and is agenda-free.#PepsiAd— nατε picκοwicz (@NatePickowicz) April 6, 2017
The #PepsiAd riffing on the #BlackLivesMatter protests was horrifically exploitative. How wrong can a group of Executives be?
— Rogue U.S. Citizen (@RogueUSCitizen) April 8, 2017
While there were thousands of negative reactions to the advertisement, some people did not see the controversy. The opposing views and the positive spin that people took on this advertisement was intriguing especially regarding the way people portray scenarios through social media platforms.
It's official we read too much into everything and someone will always be offended no matter what. @pepsi @KendallJenner #PepsiAd
— NeppyMeet (@NBellabambina81) April 16, 2017
The point of Pepsis ad was to sweeten our lives and show what peace is, yet all that everybody saw was a motif for further protests #PepsiAd
— Women (@Jennerationgirl) April 7, 2017
People are losing their minds about this #PepsiAd. Am I missing something? Cause I see all races and genders in the video not just black.
— thadudewithglasses (@thaglassesdude) April 15, 2017
Utilizing humor tactics and making light of a situation, especially on social media, allows a reader to continue to resonate with a brand that is important to them. Because of the humorous tweets out on the Internet regarding this advertisement, consumers continue to actively engage and tweet using #pepsiad.
“If Hollywood doesn’t greenlight a romcom based entirely on this head nod, I will” https://t.co/e8dW2za4PT Wah! This has to happen. #PepsiAd pic.twitter.com/nHxDLFmfWz
— Pete Brown (@petebrownsays) April 7, 2017
Although there are many conflicting opinions regarding this advertisement, Pepsi felt that they were expressing a global message of unity and peace. Whether you believe this advertisement is ignorant or not, everyone can respect the active voice that Pepsi has on social media.
— Pepsi™ (@pepsi) April 5, 2017