I’m sure you’ve all seen the controversial Pepsi ad by now and I hope you’ve read that half-assed apology they issued after pulling it. I want to say I’m shocked that the commercial made it that far before someone finally said that it was tasteless, but I’m not. I’m upset, but not shocked that people are continuously making fun of the organization that’s fighting for the rights of Black people and other people of color. Literally fighting for our rights to exist and live in this country. Then there’s the “all lives matter” folks who are quite vocal when someone says “Black lives matter” but are silent at other times (like when children go missing, when Muslim bans are being proposed and the proposal of a wall being built between the US and Mexico) and the constant negativity that’s being pushed out about the movement. All of that can be super disheartening, but this ad was just distasteful.
I wanted to give Pepsi some kudos for all of the diversity they included in the ad, but it honestly seems like they went down a checklist and stuck some obvious stereotypes while they were casting. Between the Asian musical prodigy (who ended up being “love interest” because you can’t have a commercial about equality without a love interest for the lead), the Black people in there shucking and jiving with cornrows, and of course the White savior.
Kendall comes in at the last minute, waltzes right up to the front and somehow does what every other participant in the march wasn’t able to do with a smirk and a can of Pepsi. Give me a friggin’ break! I understand it’s supposed to be symbolic, but nah. I call BS. It’s beyond offensive and makes light of everything that’s been going on with the movement. Folks are out here getting beaten, hosed down and shocked with a taser and she’s able to bring the peace with a can of high fructose corn syrup? Nope!
I’m not sure exactly how long the commercial was live, but I will say that within the day Pepsi not only removed it from their official Youtube channel, but they had Kendall remove her social postings on it and issued a half-assed apology.
Wait, let me rephrase.
Their apology was actually decent until they got to that last part about “putting Kendall in this position”. For putting her in what position? The position to make whatever coins she made filming this and cashing that check? Because that’s the position y’all put her in. At the end of the day, she held up her end of the deal and was paid for doing so. She wasn’t the one offended by the content of the commercial, because believe me if she was she would’ve voiced her opinions long before they started rolling, or even if she had a problem with the final cut she should’ve said something then. We’ve all seen the power that that family yields, and we know that Kris Jenner will not let her girls do anything that she doesn’t think is appropriate for their brand. So this means that not only did this idea make it past whatever marketing company that pitched it, but it made it past whatever Pepsi execs who make the big decisions and Mama Jenner who approves what all her girls do. This idea seemed okay to all of them.
Sickening.
I’m sure all of the responsible parties saw the backlash and Kris Jenner jumped down Pepsi’s throats about making sure that Kendall an apology, and of course Pepsi did. Ugh! They didn’t want to upset the gravy train that is the Kardashian/Jenner clan, and an apology to Kendall goes right along with the long tradition this nation has of using kid gloves with women who aren’t of color.
Pepsi missed the mark this time, and they had the chance to right their wrong but decided to mess that up too. I would point y’all in the direction of the video if I knew of one still floating around online, but I don’t. So for those of you who have seen it, what did you think? Comment below or tweet me and let me know.