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Martin Luther King Jr’s daughter summed the now-infamous Pepsi fiasco up in a single, brutal tweet. “If only Daddy would have known about the power of Pepsi” King tweeted next to a picture of her father – a legendary civil rights leader – being pushed by police officers during a protest. (Note: The Pepsi ad was ironically released on the same day as the 49th anniversary of King’s assassination in Memphis in Tennessee. He was fatally shot on April 4, 1968.)
If only Daddy would have known about the power of #Pepsi. pic.twitter.com/FA6JPrY72V
— Be A King (@BerniceKing) April 5, 2017
This morning, Pepsi removed it’s ad coupled with an apology. “Pepsi was trying to project a global message of unity, peace and understanding,” the company said. “Clearly we missed the mark, and we apologise. We are removing the content and halting any further rollout. We also apologise for putting Kendall Jenner in this position.”
Jenner – who features prominently in the ad and has spent the last few days promoting the campaign via her social accounts on Instagram and Twitter is now said to be “devastated”. “This is the first controversial campaign she has been involved with,” a source explained to E! News. “Even though she had nothing to do with the production and the message of the campaign, she will be blamed for this since she is the face.”
According to the source, Jenner was paid millions for the contract but part of the agreement means she is unable to talk about the fallout. Many though have questioned if Jenner had to approve the ad before it’s release. “Kendall relied on Pepsi to do their due diligence and trusted that it would be tasteful,” the “source” continued. The model was spotted at the airport today covering her face from prying paparazzi.
Before they pulled the ad down though, Pepsi attempted to rectify it’s stance yesterday: “It was 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. We did not intend to make light of any serious issue.” While not intentional, do we all agree it’s completely tone-deaf? And if the model’s contract did stipulate she approve her involvement and footage, should Jenner be held part accountable? We’re putting the blame on Pepsi on this one but want to know your thoughts.
Kendall: “behind the scenes of my commercial with @pepsi #PepsiMoment #ad” #instagram #JennerUpdates pic.twitter.com/S6K81gH32m
— UpdateJenner (@UpdateJenner) April 4, 2017
