MKTG/367

IBS Center for Management Research

ST
PO
R
Pepsi’s Kendall Jenner AD: Communication Gone Wrong O
PY
This case was written by Syeda Tahera Sadia and Indu Perepu, IBS Hyderabad. It was compiled from published sources, and is
intended to be used as a basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a management
situation.
CO
T
O
N
O
D

 2017, IBS Center for Management Research. All rights reserved.

To order copies, call +91 9640901313 or write to IBS Center for Management Research (ICMR), IFHE Campus, Donthanapally,
Sankarapally Road, Hyderabad 501 203, Telangana, India or email: casehelpdesk@ibsindia.org

www.icmrindia.org
 MKTG/367

Pepsi’s Kendall Jenner AD: Communication Gone

ST
Wrong
“We talk a lot about drinking the cool aid but Pepsi is an example of an

PO
organization drinking too much of its own fizzy liquid.”1
– Andy Nairn, Founder of Lucky Generals 2
In April 2017, US-based multinational food and beverage company PepsiCo. Inc. (PepsiCo)
launched a campaign titled ‘Live for Now - Moments’ in an attempt to portray its carbonated soft
drink Pepsi as a millennial friendly brand. The protest themed advertisement with 21-year-old

R
super model Kendall Jenner (Jenner) in it, however, faced a backlash, with several people
criticizing it for its insensitive approach and for the improper execution of the message in the
campaign. In the ad, Jenner was shown participating in a photo shoot and then joining up with
protestors and approaching a cop with a can of Pepsi.

O
Critics took to social media to bash the ad as a sleazy attempt to co-opt political activism just to
increase sales. Many Twitter users also criticized the ad for being tone deaf, saying it trivialized real-
PY
life protests where several people lost their lives. The ad was also roasted badly for showing Pepsi as
a solution to any major social or political issue. A user posted, “So we should just give Putin &
Assad & Trump a can of Pepsi & everything will be fine?” Another posted, “Shame on
you @pepsi for such a tasteless ad.” Pepsi was also slammed for casting Jenner, who was considered
a misfit in an ad primarily portraying a protest similar to the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement3.
CO

The ad which cost Pepsi around US $100 million was pulled out in less than 48 hours following
the withering criticism that stated that it was trying to co-opt protest movements for commercial
gain. Following the furor, PepsiCo also apologized for the advertisement saying that its only
intention had been to promote peace and unity. It stated, “Pepsi was trying to project a global
message of unity, peace and understanding. Clearly we missed the mark and we apologize.”4
T

Pepsi tried to tap a burgeoning politically/socially active topic which was catching fire with the
millennials5 of America, especially post Trump’s victory and his anti-immigration and other such
O

laws. Brand analysts explained how customers felt cheated and lost their trust when brands
portrayed a socially active message in which they had no involvement in reality. To top it all, the
N

1
Thomas Hobbs, “Pepsi’s ad failure shows the importance of diversity and market research,”
www.marketingweek.com, April 7, 2017
2
Lucky Generals is a UK-based creative advertising agency.
O

3
Originating in the African-American community, Black Lives Matter (BLM) is an international activist
movement that campaigns against violence and systemic racism toward black people. BLM regularly
holds protests against police killings of black people and broader issues of racial profiling, police
D

brutality, and racial inequality in the United States criminal justice system.
4
“Pepsi Statement Re: Pepsi Moments Content,” www.pepsico.com, April 05, 2017.
5
Millennials (also known as Generation Y) are the demographic cohort following Generation X. There are
no precise dates for when this cohort starts or ends; demographers and researchers typically use the early
1980s as starting birth years and the mid-1990s to early 2000s as ending birth years. The generation is
generally marked by an increased use and familiarity with communications, media, and digital
technologies.

1
 Pepsi’s Kendall Jenner AD: Communication Gone Wrong

campaign was created by the beverage giant’s internal studio. Since it was designed within the
company’s boundaries and by people who worked exclusively for the brand, Pepsi did not consider
any external perspective or feedback on its ad, which again was pointed out as another major
reason for the backlash the ad received. Some of the observers said this was expected to affect the
brand’s sales in the years to come.
Analysts came up with another interesting fact – not everybody hated the ad. Statistics from a
survey of the consumers showed that 44% of them had actually developed a more favorable view
of Pepsi after this ad was aired. These statistics left the analysts wondering whether Pepsi had

ST
launched the ad on purpose, i.e., to increase publicity for itself.

ABOUT PEPSICO

PO
PepsiCo was established in 1965 with the merger of the Pepsi-Cola Company and Frito-Lay, Inc.
The recipe for the first cola drink was developed by Caleb Bradham in North Carolina, in 1880.
When his drink became popular, he established the Pepsi-Cola company in 1902. This later went on
to become PepsiCo Inc. post the 1965 merger. Headquartered in Purchase, New York, the company
owned several well-known global brands like Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Lay’s, Gatorade, Quaker,
Lipton, and many others as of 2017. Pepsico served customers and consumers in more than 200

R
countries and territories across the world. In 2006, Indra Nooyi became the CEO of PepsiCo.
PepsiCo was involved in a series of acquisitions and mergers during the 1900s and 2000s, the

O
largest of these being the acquisition of Tropicana Products in 1998 and the Quaker Oats
Company in 2001. The latter added the Gatorade brand to its portfolio. PepsiCo had since
expanded from Pepsi-Cola to a broader range of food and beverage products. The global net
revenue of PepsiCo increased from US$ 39.47 billion in 2007 to US$ 62.8 billion 2016. But, since
PY
2014, a gradual decrease had been noticed in the revenues (Refer to Exhibit I for the Revenue of
PepsiCo. from 2007 to 2016). One major reason for the reduction in revenue was the shift in
consumer tastes and preferences toward healthier food options. Hence, to cope with this change
and to sustain itself in the market, Pepsi focused not just on cola but also on several other product
categories like food, snacks, and beverages by expanding its portfolio.
CO

In 2016, Pepsi accounted for 12% of the company’s net revenue while its ‘Everyday Nutrition’ 6
products accounted for roughly 25% and ‘Guilt-Free’7 products comprised about 45% of
PepsiCo’s net revenue. To keep pace with the shift in consumer preferences toward healthier
options, Indra Nooyi declared Pepsi's strategy of ‘performance with purpose’, which was for the
company to focus on healthier foods and beverages from 2017. PepsiCo announced that it planned
T

to reach $30 billion in nutritional product sales by 2020, up from $10 billion in 2010. Coca Cola,
a carbonated soft drink produced by US-based multinational beverage corporation The Coca-Cola
Company, had always been considered as Pepsi’s primary competitor in beverages but from the
O

early 2000s both the companies started depending on businesses outside beverages too.
N

LIVE FOR NOW

Pepsi first used the slogan, ‘The Pepsi Generation’ in 1964, referring to young people. Since then,
PepsiCo had positioned its cola drink as a product meant for young people. During the 1980s, the
O

brand achieved huge success by using campaigns with artists such as Madonna and Michael
Jackson, representing the pop-culture for which Pepsi had always stood.
D

6
Based on PepsiCo’s annual report 2016, “Everyday Nutrition” products include products with nutrients
like grains, fruits and vegetables, or protein, plus those that are naturally nutritious like water and
unsweetened tea. Examples: Tropicana Essentials Probiotics, and Quaker Breakfast Cereals.
7
Based on PepsiCo’s annual report 2016, “Guilt-Free” products include ‘Everyday Nutrition’ products
plus beverages with 70 calories or less from added sugar per 12-ounce serving, and snacks with low
levels of sodium and saturated fat. Examples: Pepsi Zero Sugar and Baked Lay’s.

2
 Pepsi’s Kendall Jenner AD: Communication Gone Wrong

Pepsi unveiled its first global campaign titled ‘Live for now’ in 2012, as a part of its new global
positioning strategy. This was based on the brand’s extensive global research, carried out over a
period of ten months, which stated that Pepsi fans liked to capture the excitement of now, made the
most of every moment, and lived life to the fullest and hence the name of the campaign.
The ‘Live for now’ campaign attempted to brand Pepsi as ‘youthful, exciting, and synonymous
with entertainment and music icons’. The advertisement for this campaign showed a lot of fun-
filled activities with the participants enjoying themselves and having a gala time. Efforts were

ST
made to ensure that the ad included a mix of both male and female participants of different
ethnicities.
Apart from the ad, the ‘Live for now’ website was also designed in such a way as to highlight the
‘pop culture’ image of Pepsi. The homepage carried different entertainment and celebrity links.

PO
Another interesting feature of this campaign was that the Pepsi interface also encouraged viewers
to share their ‘Now’ moments on their Twitter accounts. Analysts pointed out that this was a great
way for Pepsi to make its users serve as a vital advertisement tool for the brand. In addition to this,
the brand also unveiled new limited edition cans which featured deceased singer, Michael Jackson.
This was done to associate the brand with his international popularity and the pop image he
portrayed. They also roped in ‘Nicky Minaj’ a popular singer, for the campaign. The then Pepsi

R
CEO, Massimo d’Amore, stated, “Technology, both social networks and mobile platforms, have
created this global generation. We really want to connect our global brands with the global

O
generation, and the best way to do that is with global management.”8
The ‘Live for now’ campaign for the year 2013 involved popular singer and actress Beyoncé
Knowles (Beyoncé) and showed how the different roles she had played and the various
PY
experiences she had had over the years had helped her to develop and transform herself into the
person she had become ‘Now’. The spot was titled ‘Mirrors’ as it showed Beyoncé’s most iconic
characters compete in a heads off in a mirrored studio. It was reported that Beyoncé was very
deeply involved in every stage of the creative development of the campaign. The spot also featured
‘Grown Woman’, Beyoncé’s popular track, which perfectly symbolized Pepsi’s campaign.
CO

“There isn't an artist that embodies what it means to ‘Live for Now’ more than Beyoncé. She is a
true trendsetter and is at the epicenter of pop culture today, and we couldn't have asked for a better
creative partner to bring our shared visions to life. While this advertising is the first phase of our
wide-ranging collaboration, we are also incubating a lot of other cool creative content together to
entertain our fans, create indelible moments and continue to shape pop culture,”9 said Brad
Jakeman, President, Pepsi Global Beverages Group.
T

Pepsi’s ‘Live for now’ campaign in 2014 comprised the brand’s first global soccer campaign titled,
O

‘Now is what you make it’, which included 30- and 60-second spots along with a two-minute
interactive video which would allow consumers to unlock an additional four minutes of content.
This campaign was shot in Brazil, the venue of the FIFA World Cup in June 2014.
N

For this campaign, Pepsi unveiled its 19-player squad made up of the world’s greatest soccer
players, from 20 countries across the 5 continents. The most prominent of these were Leo Messi,
Argentinian international striker Sergio Aguero, and young British talent Jack Wilshere. They
O

were to be joined by prolific Dutch goal-scorer Robin van Persie, Brazilian defender David Luiz,
and Spanish great Sergio Ramos. “Pepsi has had a tremendous relationship with football, going
back nearly 15 years. For this, our latest incarnation, we’ve brought together our most impressive
D

Pepsi football roster yet, comprised of players who truly embody our brand spirit and excite and

8
Justin Grandinetti, “Cultural Imperialism and Globalization in Pepsi Marketing,” www.jmu.edu, Spring
2013
9
“Get. Beyoncé. Now- Pepsi Unveils Visionary New Global Campaign that 'Shatters' Illusion and Features
New Beyoncé Song ‘Grown Woman’,” www.pepsico.ca, April 4, 2013

3
 Pepsi’s Kendall Jenner AD: Communication Gone Wrong

electrify us every time they step on the pitch. Our players know how to live for the moment, and
throughout the year we’ll be collaborating with them to bring our fans exciting and engaging
content, products and experiences – bringing fans closer to the game they love,”10 stated Kristin
Patrick (Patrick), then chief marketing officer of PepsiCo.
Pepsi’s ‘Live for now’ campaign of 2015 included 4 ads, one of which was a 30-second long clip
which encouraged consumers to grab the moment and carried the tagline, “Stop waiting for the
right moment; take this moment and make it epic.” In Pepsi’s words, the ad was all about, “friends

ST
coming together and turning what could otherwise be an ordinary moment into something
extraordinary."11
Brand analysts made two important observations about this campaign. First, Pepsi had bypassed
the ‘Omnicom Group’, its long-term advertising agency, and instead relied on two smaller

PO
independent agencies for the ads. Patrick stated in an interview, “We have a very deep, long-going
relationship with Omnicom and we are using them for many aspects of our 2015 campaign. But
having said that, we want to find creative talent around the world that really suits whatever project
we are working on. And for this one, we really wanted small, super-creative, nimble, fast
[agencies] -- a different spirit.”12 Second, Pepsi did not resort to celebrity endorsements for these
ads. Patrick stated that though Pepsi would continue building relationships with celebrities, the

R
brand’s marketing would also include ‘relatable consumers’.

MOMENTS

O
Despite these campaigns and promotions, the New York-based company struggled, as its target
consumers started shifting away from sweetened drinks, opting instead for healthier drinks and less
PY
salty snacks. Pepsi did not enjoy the same demand as it had previously because of the change in
customers’ tastes and lifestyles. Also, comparatively weaker international exposure than rival
Coca-Cola proved to be an obstacle for the company and hampered its reach. So, PepsiCo sought
to come up with an ad that would make the beverage resonate more with younger consumers.
CO

The company planned to achieve this by designing a protest themed ad simulating the ‘BLM
Movement’ as well as other gender and culture inclusivity protests and by building a connect with
millennials. “Pepsi is sort of not the brand leader in the space, so they've got to take a little bit
more risk. They are trying to skew themselves to a younger demographic so they are willing to be
a little more risky and edgy,"13 said Jonah Berger, an associate professor of marketing at the
University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.
T

Some experts felt that Pepsi’s confidence in social justice campaigns might have been encouraged
by the high profile Super Bowl ads that had successfully broached socially and politically charged
O

topics (Refer to Exhibit II for some such advertisements), designed by brands to be broadcast
during ‘The Super Bowl LI’14 (final played in February, 2017). The common motive behind these
N

10
“19-player squad for Pepsi's latest 'Live For Now' campaign,” www.nationmultimedia.com, January 18,
2014
O

11
E.J. Schultz, “No Omnicom, No Beyonce: Pepsi Taps Small Shops for New Global Ads,”
www.adageindia.in, January 7, 2015
12
E.J. Schultz, “No Omnicom, No Beyonce: Pepsi Taps Small Shops for New Global Ads,”
D

www.adageindia.in, January 7, 2015

13
Jeff Daniels, “Pepsi Backlash raises Bigger Question about Company’s Marketing Direction,”
www.cnbc.com, April 05, 2017.
14
The Super Bowl is the annual championship game of the National Football League (NFL). The game is
the culmination of a regular season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year.
Normally, Roman numerals are used to identify each game, rather than the year in which it is held. The
Super Bowl is one of the most watched annual sporting events in the world.

4
 Pepsi’s Kendall Jenner AD: Communication Gone Wrong

Super Bowl ads was to criticize the anti-immigrant and anti-diversity environment that the world
was plunging into. Big brands like Budweiser, Airbnb, Google, and several other reputed brands
displayed pro-diversity messages in their advertisements during the Super Bowl. Besides the Super
Bowl ads, in 2017, several big brands like Apple, Facebook, and Uber, among others, had taken a
serious stance on social issues. Pepsi too tried to follow suit.
Many marketing specialists also saw a direct connection with Coke’s famous 1971 Flower-Power
ad (See Exhibit III for more about Coke’s ad). Coca-Cola’s ‘I’d like to buy the world a Coke’ ad

ST
of 1971, was considered as the most famous use of social activism in the history of advertising. So,
many experts felt that Pepsi had tried to follow the social context similar to Coke’s 1971 ad in
order to resonate more with the millennials and thus boost its sales.
Pepsi had named the ‘Live for now’ campaign for 2017 as ‘Moments’ with the campaign depicting

PO
‘Moments when we decide to let go, choose to act, follow our passion and nothing holds us back.’
The campaign starring Jenner was designed and created by the in-house content creation team of
Pepsi, called the ‘Creators League Studio’. The short film featured multiple characters, their lives
and emotions and how they all came together to follow their heart and fight for a cause.
Titled ‘Live For Now Moments Anthem’, the ad featured music from Jamaican singer and song

R
writer Skip Marley’s ‘Lions’. The ad film showed Jenner in the middle of a photo-shoot. She
notices a protest march with people carrying signs and shouting slogans passing by. People of
multiple cultures are shown participating in the protest, the purpose of which is left unclear. To

O
extend her support to the protestors, Jenner abruptly abandons her photo-shoot and marches over
to join them on the roads, grabbing a chilled Pepsi can on the way. On reaching the front row of
the protest, she hands over that Pepsi to one of the cops overlooking the protest. Seeing this,
PY
everybody in the group starts cheering and hugging each other while a lady of color with an
Islamic headscarf, enthusiastically captures that moment with her camera. The police officer
flashes a wide smile at a colleague. The ad campaign ended with the message, ‘Live bolder, live
louder, live for now’.
Sharing her views on the ‘Moments’ campaign, Jenner said, “I am thrilled to join the legendary
CO

roster of icons who have represented their generations and worked with Pepsi. To me, Pepsi is
more than just a beverage – it registers as a pop culture icon and a lifestyle that shares a voice with
the generation of today. The spirit of Pepsi – living in the ‘now’ moment – is one that I believe in.
I make a conscious effort in my everyday life and travels to enjoy every experience of today.”15

THE RESPONSE
T

Pepsi had planned to run the ad globally across television and digital media. The ad was supposed
O

to strike a chord with the young consumers. The company was therefore caught unawares when the
result was completely contrary to what it had expected. The ad film was criticized for trivializing
‘Institutional Racism’ and for appropriating the ‘BLM’ movement and other serious protests which
N

had claimed several lives. A vast majority of people around the world also slammed the ad for
being “tone-deaf”.
Soon after it was telecast, people started tweeting snide remarks about how a drink, Pepsi, could
O

make a difference in protests and marches. A user, Niall Cole, tweeted, “The world could have
been such a better place if we knew about the mystical power of #Pepsi.”16 A few others openly
D

tweeted about boycotting all PepsiCo’s products. “I'm boycotting all @Pepsi products until they

15
Kristina Monllos, “Pepsi’s Tone-Deaf Kendall Jenner Ad Co-opting the Resistance is getting Colbbered
in Social,” www.adweek.com, April 04, 2017.
16
Jeff Daniels, “Pepsi backlash raises bigger question about company's marketing direction,”
www.cnbc.com, April 5, 2017

5
 Pepsi’s Kendall Jenner AD: Communication Gone Wrong

apologize for this blasphemy,”17 tweeted Charles M Blow. There were a few who related Pepsi to
the problems of capitalism. A user named Brotha B, tweeted, “The Pepsi commercial shows us that
capitalism will steal our lives and then find multiple ways to make a profit of our death.”18 Bernice
King, youngest daughter of slain civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr., too expressed her
displeasure over the commercial with a biting post – “If only Daddy would have known about the
power of #Pepsi.”19
Initially, PepsiCo tried to defend its ad campaign. “This is a global ad that reflects people from

ST
different walks of life coming together in a spirit of harmony, and we think that’s an important
message to convey,”20 said a Pepsi spokesman in response to critics. But when the criticism started
flooding in, PepsiCo apologized for its ad and stated, “Pepsi was trying to project a global message
of unity, peace and understanding. 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

PO
rollout. We also apologize for putting Kendall Jenner in this position.”21 Many even made fun of
the ad by commenting that Pepsi had been successful in uniting the internet against the ad.

WHAT WENT WRONG?

R
Pepsi planned to strike a chord with the millennials by enticing them with the ‘Moments’ ad
campaign, by choosing political activism as a theme and starring Jenner in it. But, the result was not
as expected, as it garnered more hatred and criticism than love and support. Analysts pointed out

O
several weak areas in the advertisement and identified more than one reason for the eventual failure
of the ad campaign. The most prominent of those reasons was the fact that the Pepsi ad was not
authentic. In the recent years, Pepsi and other sugary drinks and other snack brands had been pushed
PY
into the limelight for the negative impact of these products on consumer health. So, in order to cover
up this dark side, these brands had started to connect themselves with broader causes, which would
also help them in drawing consumer attention to their brands. But this practice backfired for Pepsi,
and in a big way. The main reason for this was that Pepsi failed to convey the message sensitively,
according to observers. The Kendall Jenner ad depicted a white-washed and inauthentic version of
CO

the real-life protests and was seen as belittling and overshadowing the very purpose and significance
of what brought people to protest on to the streets in the first place. "I think it was the right idea, I
think it was the wrong brand. Brands need to stay in a space where they're authentic, where they're
relevant and a place where they've been consistent. This is kind of a one-off ad from Pepsi. You
haven't seen that kind of messaging from them previously,"22 said Mike Jackson, senior advisor at
Talespin, a marketing communications agency.
T

Pepsi’s ‘Moments’ ad campaign was also slammed for being a far cry from reality. Many
consumers felt that the imagery and situations depicted in the ad looked as if they were from
O

Utopia and were nowhere close to what actually happened in real-life protests. Analysts stated that
brands took up causes close to the consumer’s heart to show that they were in tune with the
N

17
Alexander Smith, “Pepsi Pulls Controversial Kendall Jenner Ad After Outcry,” www.nbcnews.com,
April 5, 2017
18
Alexander Smith, “Pepsi Pulls Controversial Kendall Jenner Ad After Outcry,” www.nbcnews.com,
O

April 5, 2017
19
Jeff Daniels, “Pepsi backlash raises bigger question about company's marketing direction,”
D

www.cnbc.com, April 5, 2017

20
Thomas Hobbs, “Pepsi’s tone-deaf Kendall Jenner ad deserves to be criticized,”
www.marketingweek.com, April 5, 2017
21
Alexander Smith, “Pepsi Pulls Controversial Kendall Jenner Ad After Outcry,” www.nbcnews.com,
April 5, 2017
22
Mack Hogan, “Kendall Jenner ad uproar 'shows how far Pepsi has fallen,' marketing exec says,”
www.cnbc.com, April 5, 2017

6
 Pepsi’s Kendall Jenner AD: Communication Gone Wrong

customer’s values. While doing so, the companies had to ensure that they remained as close to
reality as possible while promoting their brands. Pepsi botched up this concept completely. First,
the protestors looked quite happy and were seen dancing, laughing, and cheering for reasons which
were not clear. They did not seem to have any problem or any serious issue to fight for in their
protest. Many also pointed out that there was no clarity in the message conveyed as the ad showed
people carrying unclear and vague symbols and slogans like, “Peace”, “Join the conversation”, etc.
which in no way portrayed the purpose of the protest. They said PepsiCo’s ad had also failed
because it had co-opted the imagery without taking any stand and thus failed to make any political

ST
point at all, unlike some of the advertisements that were shown during the Super Bowl that clearly
stated their stance on issues like immigration.
Viewers also complained how the ad indirectly suggested that police brutality could be stopped just
by sharing a cola drink with the cops. This was considered insensitive as there were several instances

PO
of people losing their lives due to police brutality in real protests. The ad was also slammed for co-
opting and trivializing the BLM movement and other serious issues just for increasing its sales and
making profits. Many observers felt that Jenner’s calm offer of a Pepsi to a police officer held a close
reference to the real life iconic BLM picture23, which showed Nurse Ieshia Evans calmly
surrendering herself to the cops in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in July 2016.

R
Casting Jenner in the ad was considered extremely ironical and even comical by some observers.
Analysts pointed out that it was a glaring misstep to cast Jenner in an ad highlighting ‘Black-Lives

O
Matter’ movement. “Using a wealthy, white model with no history of civic concern to ‘save the
day’ … what?” 24 said Kit Yarrow, a consumer psychologist and author of ‘Decoding the New
Consumer Mind’. This was considered as the best example of a mismatch between the celebrity
and the cause of the ad campaign.
PY
The ad campaign was designed by PepsiCo’s in-house content creation arm, Creators League
Studio, which was identified as another major reason for the huge backlash against the ad.
Marketing experts were of the opinion that since the ad had been produced within the company,
PepsiCo did not have an external opinion or outsider view of its ad campaign. According to Allen
CO

Adamson, founder of BrandSimple Consulting, “Keeping everything under the company’s roof
may have meant the ad was looked at with less skepticism and fewer points of view. That’s the
challenge of an in-house creative group, they tend to overdrink the Kool-Aid and they lose that
sense of objectivity. They’re looking at the world through Pepsi-colored lenses.”25
At 2016 Cannes Lions Festival, Brad Jakeman26 talked about Pepsi’s decision to form the Creators
League Studio, a new in-house content creation arm. He complained about how ad agencies
T

consumed a lot of time and money in developing ad campaigns for them. He also said that through
the new content arm, PepsiCo would be able to complete an ad in six days or even six hours and
O

would also be able to reduce the production cost from $2 billion to just $20,000. According to
N

23
In July 2016, several protests were conducted in the US after violent incidents involving African
American people and the police. In an atmosphere of heightened racial tension and amid a growing
debate over the seeming militarization of the American police, one photo stood out. The image was that
O

of Ieshia Evans, a young woman standing calmly in front of two police officers wearing layers of armor
and appearing to approach her in a hurry. The photograph was taken outside the Baton Rouge police
headquarters, where most of July’s protests were focused. Because of her strong and powerful stand in
D

the protests, Evans became an icon of the ‘Black Lives Matter movement’.
24
E.J. Schultz, “After Kendall Jenner Ad Debacle, What's Next for Pepsi?” www.adage.com, April
6, 2017
25
Jennifer Kaplan, “What went wrong with Pepsi’s Kendall Jenner Ad?” www.bloomberg.com, April 5,
2017
26
Brad Jakeman was PepsiCo’s president. He was the one who headed PepsiCo's in-house content creation
arm, Creators League Studio (CLS)

7
 Pepsi’s Kendall Jenner AD: Communication Gone Wrong

Lucky General’s27 founder, Andy Nairn, “Yes, an agency will take longer to make an ad, but a
longer trial and error approach typically avoids controversy so it’s worth it.” He added, “Agencies
mess up too, we get it wrong all the time. But if you run an in-house creative department like Pepsi
does, you need to really interrogate your own approach and make sure you’re not blinkered by
your own brand. It is clear Pepsi didn’t do that. It is basic common sense that if you are surrounded
by people who live and breathe your brand when creating an ad, then you’re much more prone to
disaster than working with an ad agency, who will take a more balanced approach.”28

ST
Lack of proper Market Research was also identified as one of the many reasons that led to the
failure of the ad campaign. According to Fern Miller, chief strategy officer at DigitasLBi, an
integrated advertising agency, the in-house vs. agency debate was irrelevant as the solution simply
boiled down to doing proper market research. She believed that Pepsi had failed because it did not
focus on market research and mainly because it didn’t reach out to protest groups. She said, “If

PO
you get involved with the protest movement in your ad then you need to really engage with these
people on the front line and try to understand the nuances of what they are doing. If you don’t,
well, then you can see what the results will look like.”29 Experts believed that had Pepsi spent
some time in planning and researching actual protests like BLM, Anti-Trump protests, etc., they
would have been able to produce an ad closer to reality. Now, Pepsi had to pay the price of not

R
giving due importance to market research, by facing the huge backlash from all directions.
Apart from missing out on market research, marketing experts also believed that PepsiCo had

O
failed to pretest the ad. Michael Belch, a professor of marketing at San Diego State University who
had done consulting for major beverage brands, said, “A company like Pepsi shouldn't be putting
out things like that without pre-testing them first.”30 The experts also opined that brands should
consider testing their ideas, especially when collaborating with a celebrity, before investing
PY
heavily in ad campaigns. “With the social tools available, it would have been entirely possible to
share much smaller pieces of content via Pepsi or Jenner’s social channels to see people’s
reactions to this sort of angle. At least that way, Pepsi and Jenner could have avoided the massive
investment that no doubt went into shooting the advertisement. If they had gotten a positive
response, they would know to move forward. And if the response was negative, they would be able
CO

to avoid this sort of disaster much earlier in the process,”31 said Deep Patel, a social entrepreneur,
marketer, and author.
Apart from all these reasons, market analysts also pointed out that PepsiCo was not actually
involved in the cause that it had taken up in its campaign, and this could also have been one major
reason for the ad’s failure. These analysts also stated that when a brand was not associated with the
T

cause that it took up in its ad campaigns, consumers assumed that they were being cheated.
Jackson said, “PepsiCo hasn't been active enough in matters of race for this ‘important message’ to
O

feel genuine. If a company wants to take on an important topic, it has to make sure it has some
presence in the space.”32 Jackson quoted the example of Unilever’s Dove brand which had been
actively engaged in feminist causes and thus had more authority to speak on those issues. Giving
N

27
Lucky General is a London- based creative company
28
Thomas Hobbs, “Pepsi’s ad Failure Shows the Importance of Diversity and Market Research,”
O

www.marketingweek.com, April 7, 2017

29
Thomas Hobbs, “Pepsi’s ad Failure Shows the Importance of Diversity and Market Research,”
D

www.marketingweek.com, April 7, 2017

30
Jeff Daniels, “Pepsi backlash raises bigger question about company's marketing direction,”
www.cnbc.com, April 5, 2017
31
Deep Patel, “Influencer Marketing Gone Wrong: Why Pepsi's Ad Featuring Kendall Jenner Missed the
Mark,” www.forbes.com, April 6, 2017
32
Mack Hogan, “Kendall Jenner ad uproar 'shows how far Pepsi has fallen,' marketing exec says,”
www.cnbc.com, April 5, 2017

8
 Pepsi’s Kendall Jenner AD: Communication Gone Wrong

the example of Unilever, Nicola Kemp, trends editor at advertising trade magazine Campaign,
said, “Brands such as Unilever are making an impressive investment not just in communicating a
message of sustainability but in making a tangible impact on the communities they work within
and their employees. They’re well thought-out, they’re invested in, and they partner with NGOs.”33
Experts also quoted several other examples like Nike, which had invested its money on developing
community training initiatives and races, instead of spending huge money on celebrities. PepsiCo,
in contrast, didn’t have a history of fighting against racial issues. People therefore found it difficult
to accept an ad in which Pepsi tried to portray itself as socially responsible brand by recreating

ST
BLM and other serious protests in the campaign.

THE IMPACT

PO
The production costs of the ad campaign that was made in Bangkok ran into millions of dollars.
An industry expert said, “At least $2 million, but probably more like $5 million, including
Kendall’s fee. Adding the media buy would be roughly $100 million for a campaign like this.”34
Another person who had worked for a long time as a production co-coordinator for the brand
noted, “Kendall was likely paid a one-time fee for the ad. I’d guess anywhere from $400,000-$1
million.”35

R
According to Brand Finance, 2016 was a tough year for Pepsi with its brand value dropping by 4%
to $18.3 billion. The report also stated that the ad controversy ‘could create further losses in the

O
value and strength of its brand.’ Social media monitoring company ‘Brandwatch’ stated that on the
very next day after the ad release, Pepsi had drawn 1.25 million mentions on Facebook, Twitter,
and Instagram combined, with 58.6% of them being negative.
PY
There were also a few market experts who stated that Pepsi had designed the campaign on the
premise that, ‘Any publicity is good publicity’. So, this commercial was not the complete flop that
others perceived it to be. According to ‘The Morning Consult survey’, “About 44% of people had
a more favorable view of Pepsi after watching the ad. Only 25% of those surveyed had a less
favorable view. A whopping 75% of Latinos said the ad made them think more favorably of the
CO

soda brand, while 51% of African-Americans said the same. Only 41% of whites said the ad made
them feel more favorably toward Pepsi.”36 This was completely contradictory to the allegations
made against the ad as a large number of minorities did have a favorable response toward the ad.
Marketing experts stated that the advances in technology had made it easy for companies to
promote their brands. At the same time, it indirectly demanded that brands be more cautious and
T

meaningful than ever, as otherwise they could draw a lot of flak like Pepsi did. “What greater
visibility these companies now have in the digital era means they have to act more responsibly
now, because if they don’t, it does affect sales,”37 said Dr. John Jewell, who taught Advertising,
O

Propaganda, and Political Communication at Cardiff University. Not doing this was one of the
major reasons for the huge failure of Pepsi’s ad.
N

33
Rebecca Nicholson, “From Coke’s Flower Power to Kendall Jenner’s Pepsi ad – how ads co-opt protest,”
O

www.theguardian.com, April 5, 2017

34
Char Adams, “How Many Millions Could Pepsi’s Pulled Kendall Jenner Ad Cost the Company?”
D

www.people.com, April 6, 2017

35
Char Adams, “How Many Millions Could Pepsi’s Pulled Kendall Jenner Ad Cost the Company?”
www.people.com, April 6, 2017
36
Farber and Madeline, “A Lot of People Actually Liked Pepsi's Kendall Jenner Ad,” Fortune.com, April
13, 2017
37
Rebecca Nicholson, “From Coke’s Flower Power to Kendall Jenner’s Pepsi ad – how ads co-opt protest,”
www.theguardian.com, April 5, 2017

9
 Pepsi’s Kendall Jenner AD: Communication Gone Wrong

In an attempt to appropriate political activism and be active under the banner of social conscience,
Pepsi acted irresponsibly. This did not help the company in any way; instead, it made the
consumers feel that the company had tried to hoodwink them as in reality PepsiCo was in no way
associated with the cause it showed in its ad campaign. Will Pepsi be able to manage to come out
of this controversy or will this Kendall Jenner ad fiasco dampen its sales for many years to come?
Marketing analysts believed this ad would negatively affect the brand’s sales but this would be
very short-lived as consumers generally tended to move on and forget things with time and hence
it might not have a lasting impact on the brand. But only time will tell whether this prediction will

ST
come true.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:

PO
1. What do you think were the prime reasons for Pepsi’s Kendall Jenner ad turning into a fiasco?
2. Explain how Pepsi’s Kendall Jenner ad fell prey to the changing ‘marketing communications
environment’. With reference to this context, explain the loopholes in the ad.
3. Identify the gaps in Pepsi’s ad in terms of the communication design process.

R
4. Was Kendall Jenner the right choice for the ‘Moments’ ad campaign? Support your answer
with references from the case.

O
PY
CO
T
O
N
O
D

10
 Pepsi’s Kendall Jenner AD: Communication Gone Wrong

Exhibit – I
PepsiCo’s Global Net Revenue from 2007 to 2016 (in billion US dollars)
80

70 66.5 65.49 66.42 66.68

63.06 62.8

ST
60 57.84

50
43.25 43.23

PO
39.47
40
Net Revenue in
30 billion US dollars

20

R
10

0
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
O
2014 2015 2016
PY
Source: PepsiCo Annual Report 2016

Exhibit – II
2017 Super Bowl Ads that carried socially/politically active messages
CO

Company Message
The American Beer company generated the maximum buzz of all the ads at
the Super Bowl 2017. The spot was titled ‘Born the hard way’ and it told the
story of its founder, Adolphus Busch’s journey from Germany to St. Louis, in
T

order to brew a beer. This hard-hitting commercial came just days after US
Budweiser
President Trump announced that he would temporarily close the US borders
to refugees and to people from seven Muslim-majority countries. This ad
O

gained a lot of appreciation for its powerful message but it also got slammed
on Twitter by people opposing immigrants.
N

The home-sharing network’s Super Bowl campaign for 2017 was centered on
the theme of ‘Equality’ which supported the company’s #weaccept campaign.
The company was in the news for racial bias among its users. To shrug off
O

this image, AirBnb created the spot which showed close-ups of people of all
ages, races, and genders with a message of togetherness. The website of the
AirBnb company also pledged to provide short-term housing arrangements for
D

100,000 odd people in need, including immigrants.

The ad’s message was loud and clear from the spot which read, “We believe
that no matter who you are, where you’re from, who you love or who you
worship, we all belong. The world is more beautiful the more you accept.
#weaccept.”

11
 Pepsi’s Kendall Jenner AD: Communication Gone Wrong

Company Message
The German automobile manufacturer’s commercial for the 2017 Super Bowl
was titled ‘Daughter’. The ad featured a father voicing his fears for his
daughter competing against a bunch of boys in a soapbox car race. Though
the girl is shown excelling at the race, the dad’s voice over is heard
Audi expressing his fears that she will never be seen as (or paid) equal to men,
despite her education, skills and drive.

ST
Through this spot, Audi affirmed its commitment to equal pay which
acquired added meaning in the context of the ‘Women’s Marches’ taking
place at that time.

PO
The building supply company showed the journey of a mother and daughter
traveling from Mexico to America. When they reach the border, they find a
seemingly huge impenetrable wall. The mother is grief stricken and the
daughter is shown holding a tattered US flag, made from the rags she had
collected on her way there. But soon, their grief comes to an end, when they
find a massive wooden door, made out of 84 Lumber’s wood. They then

R
happily make their way through the door. The ad carried a concluding
84 Lumber message which read, ‘The will to succeed is always welcome here’.

O
This came as a strong politically charged message at a time when the US had
set up anti-immigration laws and also had plans to build a wall between
Mexico and the US. The ad was censored and only a part of the video was
PY
aired during the game, with a link to its website for the full video of the
commercial.
Google’s 2017 Super Bowl ad took the viewers into the homes of people
representing a cross-section of America. The ad showed black, white, Middle
Eastern, Asian, and Latino families; gay-pride flag, a rainbow; and a
CO

mezuzah, hung on the doorpost of Jewish houses. At the end, the ad showed a
Google
cake with the message “Welcome Home” and the video concluded with a
surprise party. The message that Google wanted to convey was that everyone
in America should feel comfortable and at home. This ad was designed to
market its ‘Google Home Smart Speaker’.
T

Compiled from different sources

O
N
O
D

12
 Pepsi’s Kendall Jenner AD: Communication Gone Wrong

Exhibit – III
‘Hilltop’ Coke Ad of 1971
The commercial was conceptualized by Bill Backer, a creative director on the Coca-Cola
account at the McCann-Erickson advertising agency, when his flight was diverted to Ireland due
to heavy fog at London’s Heathrow airport. According to him, when all the passengers gathered
at the airport’s coffee shop to wait for their flight, he noticed that those who had been irritated
and angry the previous day were all smiling, laughing, and sharing stories over bottles of Coke.

ST
Later, he completed a jingle with the help of Billy Davis, a music director, and English
songwriter Roger Cook. As the song became popular, the company decided to make a
commercial. It was reported that the company shelled out around $250,000 for the commercial,
as it trusted Backer’s vision thoroughly.

PO
The song composed was as follows:
“I’d like to buy the world a home and furnish it with love,
Grow apple trees and honey bees, and snow white turtle doves.
I’d like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony,

R
I’d like to buy the world a Coke and keep it company.
It’s the real thing, Coke is what the world wants today.”38

O
This ad was released at a time when the Vietnam War was raging. Most Americans were fed up
of the war and its devastating effects on lives and property. In such a season of racial division,
imperial deception, capitalist malaise, and national despair, Coca-Cola gathered young men and
women from different racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds upon a hilltop in Italy to promote
PY
peace and harmony, as they sang a song titled, “I’d like to buy the world a Coke” while holding
a bottle of Coca-Cola. The ad ended with an aerial view of 200-odd young people on the hilltop
and the following message was displayed on the screen:
“On a hilltop in Italy
CO

We assembled young people

From all over the world
To bring you this message
From Coca-Cola bottlers
All over the world
It's the real thing - Coke.”39
T

This ad resonated well with the Americans, especially youngsters. People called radio stations
requesting them to play the commercial and called TV stations to find out when the ad was
O

scheduled to air. It became so popular that it was considered as the best commercial in the
history of advertising.
N

Compiled from different sources

O
D

38
Travis. M. Andrews and Fred Barbash, “‘I’d like to buy the world a Coke’: The story behind the world’s
most famous ad, in memoriam its creator,” www.washingtonpost.com, May 17, 2016.
39
Ted Ryan, “The making of ‘I’d like to buy the world a Coke’,” www.coca-colacompany.com, January 1,
2012.

13
 Pepsi’s Kendall Jenner AD: Communication Gone Wrong

Suggested Readings and References:

1. “Pepsi Pulls Controversial Kendall Jenner Ad After Outcry,” www.nbcnews.com, April 5,

2017.
2. “From Coke’s Flower power to Kendall Jenner’s Pepsi ad – How ads co-opt protest,”
www.theguardian.com, April 5, 2017.
3. “Pepsi backlash raises bigger question about company's marketing direction,”

ST
www.cnbc.com, April 5, 2017.
4. “Pepsi's Kendall Jenner ad: Mistake or subversive strategy?” www.latimes.com, April 6,
2017.

PO
5. “Pepsi's Mistake with Kendall Jenner Ad? Keep It Real,” www.forbes.com, April 6, 2017.
6. “After Kendall Jenner Ad Debacle, What's Next for Pepsi?” adage.com, April 6, 2017.
7. “Pepsi’s ad failure shows the importance of diversity and market research,”
www.marketingweek.com, April 7, 2017.

R
8. “Pepsi’s tone-deaf Kendall Jenner ad deserves to be criticized,” www.marketingweek.com,
April 7, 2017.
9.

10.
2017.
O
“How on Earth Does an Ad Like Pepsi's Get Approved?” www.theatlantic.com, April 8,

“How the Pepsi and Kendall Jenner fiasco reveals the dangers of DIY advertising,”
PY
www.telegraph.co.uk, April 13, 2017.
11. “A Lot of People Actually Liked Pepsi's Kendall Jenner Ad,” www.fortune.com, April 13,
2017.
12. www.pepsico.com
CO

13. www.pepsi.com
14. https://twitter.com/pepsi
T
O
N
O
D

14