Last night I was on Twitter and I kept seeing people post memes of, and comments about, Pepsi and connecting the brand with the police…
When the cops come and you only got Coca-Cola in the fridge pic.twitter.com/GWWO67bkMm
— Ira Madison III (@ira) April 4, 2017
"Aye fam real quick throw me a Pepsi" pic.twitter.com/CNMlggCquf
— Problematic Uncle (@_TaBoris) April 5, 2017
"BUT I HAVE PEPSI" pic.twitter.com/2GjQYQ2ltu
— ….. (@ktgonkt) April 5, 2017
The Kendall Jenner Pepsi fiasco is a perfect example of what happens when there's no black people in the room when decisions are being made.
— Travon Free (@Travon) April 4, 2017
*kendall jenner hands cop a pepsi*
cop: im not racist anymore
— BRANDON WARDELL (@BRANDONWARDELL) April 4, 2017
Cop, after drinking Pepsi: "Officer-involved shooting is a problematic euphemism promoting victim erasure."
Kendall: "Yassss boi, slay" pic.twitter.com/e9OykFfakL
— Gene Park (@GenePark) April 4, 2017
Me going to jail because I didn't have a Pepsi handy pic.twitter.com/LDtuJELG1s
— Jasmine (@JasmineLWatkins) April 5, 2017
So by now I’m like….WHAT HAPPENED!?
Here’s my answer.
How stupid can a corporation be?
I mean really?
Now….keep in mind – this IS Pepsi. Nobody with taste buds worth anything is drinking this trash anyway. But still.
And what kills me is that it’s a white woman who gives the “peace offering” to the police….as if it’s white women who have been getting murdered by these cops with impunity???
WHO MADE THE PITCH FOR THIS!? WHO APPROVED THIS!?
It doesn’t matter. Because whoever did it has the corporation’s full support via this statement:
“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,”
And this one as well:
In a statement provided to Teen Vogue, an official spokesperson for Pepsi explained: “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,’ in an exploration of what that truly means to live life unbounded, unfiltered and uninhibited.”
FIRST of all, who said protests are about unity? See? That’s where you f***** up, Pepsi….by not understanding the FIRST thing about what you’re trying to use to push “unity.”
^^^^ All I did was put “protest” in Google. That’s it. It’s TOO easy.
That’s really all I have to say about this, man. Worse than the ad itself, Pepsi is refusing to listen to those who know what they’re talking about. Not only have you minimized the murders of people at the hands of cops and the protests about said murders, but you are suggesting that those same people who have been brutalized by cops, the communities who CONTINUE to suffer at the hands of these overzealous and violent police officers, offer up a peace offering – in this case…a can of awful soda that will probably make them even more violent, to be honest.
Yeah, keep it, Pepsi.
Whatever.
UPDATE: April 4, 2017, 12:20pm
Pepsi has announced that they're pulling the controversial Kendall Jenner ad: pic.twitter.com/45gUpuxI2P
— Marlow Stern (@MarlowNYC) April 5, 2017
Tuh.