After less than 24 hours, Pepsi has decided to pull the controversial ad (opens in new tab) that featured Kendall Jenner offering soda to police officers at a protest. "Pepsi was trying to project a global message of unity, peace, and understanding," the company said in a statement (opens in new tab). "Clearly we missed the mark, and we apologize. We did not intend to make light of any serious issue. We are removing the content and halting any further rollout. We also apologize for putting Kendall Jenner in this position." As of this post, the commercial has been removed from YouTube.
Almost as soon as the ad premiered, viewers reacted with outrage (opens in new tab) over its trivialization of political protesting, as well as the nod to the famous photo (opens in new tab) of Ieshia Evans protesting in Baton Rouge. Pepsi initially defended the ad (opens in new tab), saying it "reflects people from different walks of life coming together in a spirit of harmony, and we think that's an important message to convey." Jenner has still not commented.
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