Everyone enjoys a laugh when some poor lass stands up at a beauty pageant and talks about wanting world peace and ending hunger, but that kind of mess isn’t usually pounced upon by a huge brand like Pepsi.
That’s kind of where we are with their advert, titled ‘Live For Now Moments Anthem’, which is an example of how tone-deaf some marketers remain to the world around them.
Huff Post SA can set the scene:
The ad follows the reality TV star as she joins a crowd of young people marching by her totally casual street-side photoshoot. Whipping off her blond wig and smearing her lipstick, young Jenner picks up a Pepsi as her contemporaries of all races and orientations smile at her and fist bump along. Seriously. Someone actually fist bumps her.
You are now ready:
What absolute turd.
If you look at the likes and dislikes section under the video, you’ll see it isn’t faring all that well. This below at the time of writing:
A ratio of about six thumbs down for every thumbs up, although that view count is ticking over nicely.
With backlash growing Pepsi are still standing behind the campaign:
“This is a global ad that reflects people from different walks of life coming together in a spirit of harmony, and we think that’s an important message to convey,” the company said in a statement.
OK, sure, but you know who has zero chill? The people of Twitter, who haven’t held back. Another Huff Post SA story with a great collection:
Another tweet highlighted the hilarious “inoffensive generic protest signs”:
Hey Pepsi, people have joined the conversation. The general vibe? Your brand co-opts the images and frustrations from protests around the world, throws a model into the mix, and tries to benefit from that association.
Me thinks you might have failed.
[sources:huffpostsa&huffpostsa]
