The ad features a group of people protesting for peace while Kendall, who stars as herself on a photo shoot, takes off her blonde wig and proceeds to join them. She then offers a pepsi to an officer guarding the protest who stops to open it, yielding cheers and applause from the protesters.
The ad can easily be seen as reference to the recent protests that have taken place in the US like the Women’s March or the many Anti-Trump protests and internet users complained that it was completely trivialising their purpose. They were particularly critical of the shot of Kendall offering the soda to the police officer for its close resemblance to the iconic photo of Ieshia Evans facing authorities at a Black Lives Matter protest.
Pepsi responded to the backlash yesterday by saying "The creative showcases a moment of unity, and a point where multiple storylines converge in the final advert. It depicts various groups of people embracing a spontaneous moment, and showcasing Pepsi’s brand rallying cry to 'Live For Now'." But the company ended up taking down the video completely this morning.
Kendall has yet to comment on the controversy, but she has deleted all of her social media posts promoting the commercial.
Photo Credit: Pinterest
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