I don't get why that pepsi ad caused an outrage.

[Dragoncat]

I was just reading about "Things that outraged the internet in 2017", and one of them was the Pepsi ad where Kendall Jenner defuses a protest with cans of Pepsi. And I realized that I never understood why this was so horrible. Protests can be horrible, don't we want them to be diffused in peaceful ways? Didn't both the police and the protestors get Pepsi in this ad? Are people mad because the insinuation that protested issues can be dealt with and neutralized in ways so simple, or what?

Please, polite honest answers, because I honestly don't know.

[De Geso]

The idea, from what I understand, was that people didn't like the company taking advantage of the political climate to sell their product (acting as if their product was this miracle that would bring about world peace).

Plus it was just really stupid. The ad and the ensuing outrage.

Edited December 17, 2017 by YouSquiddinMe

[RedRob]

I think it was how the ad acted like protests, of which there were many this year, could be solved so easily.

I also found a video about it when I tried looking the ad up to refresh my memory.

 

Also found something about it on TvTropes.

A Pepsi ad from early 2017 shows a group of young people protesting over social issues and walking towards a line of police officers. Kendall Jenner, who is modeling nearby, decides to join the protest and offers a Pepsi to one of the police offers, eliciting a roar of applause from the protesters and apparently mending relations. Despite its intended message about peace, the ad was widely panned and pulled from television due to co-opting the very serious and controversial-at-the-time issue of police brutality and their protests to simply sell a product. Also rather disliked was the fact that rich, white, and privileged Kendall Jenner is the one to mend issues, while police brutality frequently targets poor and underprivileged minorities.

Edited December 17, 2017 by RedRob

[Dandy Druid]

Because it devolves all of the protests with a simple solution with a can of Pepsi. If it was that easy, there wouldn't be protests in the first place. It takes away from the awareness these protests are trying to acquire, which is to enhance social equality between all races. People have been injured, and some have even died at these protests- and they're trying to use it sell soda.

Their intent wasn't malicious or even that bad, but it just comes off as tasteless and insensitive to the issues that are going on.

[Ertrick36]

Multiple problems with the ad:

• It was banking on protests as if they were a hip new trend, when in reality they're very serious and something that you really can't make light of unless you're just apathetic to the very real plights of the folks protesting.  When you watch the ad, the protest seems like this fun little social event, which is never what a protest should be.  It almost seemingly makes a mockery of our First Amendment right to assemble and peacefully protest.
• Like others have said, it makes it seem like the solution to protests is simple; just give everyone Pepsi colas, and all parties will get along...  When someone actually tried to do that, it just caused both protesters and cops to use the cans as weapons or smash them, ultimately only fueling the anger further.  A lot of protests in recent days have not ended very peacefully.  I particularly think of the Dakota Access Pipeline protests, where the protesters were constantly hazed with water cannons, sound cannons, and overly ridiculous hazing armaments.
• It happened during a very tumultuous time period in America; the post election, which saw to millions of people protesting throughout the country.  Not only that, but this has generally been a bad year for cop-to-civilian interactions, with multiple accounts of police outright killing unarmed people, and even some doing the same to innocent police officers.  Regardless of what you think of the politics, you can at least agree that it would be more sensible to just not make ads that relate to that sort of stuff at all... especially if you don't know much about those issues.
• Of course, they use a celebrity who, to my knowledge, hardly ever got involved in political affairs like this... simply to appeal to young folks.  This came across as completely vain, and the ad in general just seemed to miss the point of protests entirely.  Obviously the people who actually made the ad or commissioned it to be made have more than likely never once participated in a protest, so they just generally have a skewed view of how they typically go down.

The general thing is...

This ad got protests so woefully wrong, and was in such bad taste that people saw it as an offense to their right to protest and to the struggles actual protesters and police go through during these times.

I wasn't all that offended personally...  I generally just don't have a high opinion of most commercials from companies like Pepsi, and I don't exercise my freedom to protest as often as I probably should.  But I do think it was a really dumb commercial - even dumber than most commercials - and I just don't see how it could possibly appeal to anyone.  Beyond all the offense it caused, it just wasn't that great of an ad.  If it took place at a party instead of a protest, it'd just be like every other goddamn beverage commercial out there, except it'd have Kendall Jenner instead of some other young celebrity that seems relatable even though they're totally loaded and probably hardly have to break their own backs just to get by like the majority of people do.

[Johann]

2 hours ago, Ertrick36 said:

When someone actually tried to do that, it just caused both protesters and cops to use the cans as weapons or smash them, ultimately only fueling the anger further. 

Relevant video of a dude bringing some Pepsis to a Berkeley protest and several are weaponized. Also gives an idea how chaotic some protests can be, though it should be noted that in this particular video, the protest is between alt-right and anti-fascist groups, which pretty much guarantees some violent outbursts.

[Dragoncat]

I see, so my hunch was correct. Thanks guys.

[Captain Karnage]

Well, everyone here has explainedit better than I ever could so I really don't have to repeat information.

Though it lead to some funny situations on campus and at meetings this year.