It was 2017. The world felt like it was on fire. Between the heightened political tension in the U.S. and the global rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, people were taking to the streets. Then came the Kendall Jenner Pepsi commercial.
Technically titled "Live for Now," the short film was supposed to be a "global message of unity, peace, and understanding." Instead, it became the textbook definition of a PR disaster. It didn't just miss the mark; it flew past the target and crashed into a wall of public outrage so intense that Pepsi had to pull the ad within 48 hours.
The Ad That Broke the Internet (For All the Wrong Reasons)
Let’s set the scene. The commercial opens with Kendall Jenner in a high-fashion photoshoot. She’s wearing a blonde wig and heavy makeup, looking every bit the detached supermodel. Outside her window, a protest is brewing.
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But it’s not just any protest. It’s a sanitized, "aesthetic" version of a protest. People are carrying signs that say things like "Join the Conversation" and "Love." There are smiling faces, a cellist playing on a roof, and a photographer in a hijab. Everyone is beautiful. Everything is blue.
Kendall sees the march, gets a nod from a handsome guy in the crowd, and decides to "jump in." She rips off her blonde wig—tossing it somewhat awkwardly to a Black assistant—wipes off her lipstick, and joins the ranks. The climax happens when she approaches a line of stoic police officers and hands one of them a can of Pepsi. He takes a sip, smiles at his partner, and the crowd goes wild.
Problem solved. World peace achieved via carbonated sugar water.
Why People Were So Mad
Honestly, the backlash was instant. You’ve probably seen the meme where people joked that if only Martin Luther King Jr. had known about the power of a soft drink, history would have been different. Even Bernice King, MLK’s daughter, tweeted a photo of her father being shoved by police with the caption: "If only Daddy would have known about the power of #Pepsi."
The visual of a wealthy, white supermodel approaching a police line was particularly stinging. It felt like a direct, shallow rip-off of the iconic 2016 photo of Ieshia Evans, a Black woman who stood peacefully before a line of heavily armed riot police in Baton Rouge. In real life, Evans was arrested. In the Pepsi universe, Kendall was a hero.
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The "tone-deaf" label was everywhere.
Critics pointed out that the ad trivialized the very real danger protesters face. For many, protesting isn't a fun afternoon activity where you make friends and share snacks; it’s a life-or-death struggle against systemic issues. By using the imagery of resistance to sell soda, Pepsi was accused of "commodity activism"—basically trying to profit off of social justice without actually caring about the cause.
The Aftermath: Tears and Apologies
Pepsi didn't wait long to fold. They released a statement saying they "missed the mark" and apologized not only to the public but to Kendall Jenner herself for "putting her in this position."
Kendall, for her part, went quiet for months. We eventually saw her side of the story on Keeping Up with the Kardashians. She was filmed crying, saying she felt "stupid" and "f-ing awful" for how it played out. "I would never purposely hurt someone ever," she said. She claimed she saw the script and thought it was about unity, not realizing how it would be interpreted through the lens of the specific movements happening at the time.
Lessons from the "Creators League"
One of the biggest takeaways for the business world was how the ad was made. It wasn't produced by a big, external ad agency with multiple layers of vetting. It was created by PepsiCo’s in-house team, the Creators League Studio.
This led to a huge conversation about "group-think." When you only have people inside the company working on a project, you lose the outside perspective that might say, "Hey, maybe don't compare a Jenner to a civil rights activist." It’s a classic case of why diversity in the room matters—not just for optics, but for survival.
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What Most People Get Wrong Now
Looking back, some people think this killed Kendall’s career. It didn’t. In fact, she’s still one of the highest-paid models in the world. Pepsi took a bigger hit to its "brand perception" scores, which plummeted to an eight-year low following the incident.
However, the ad remains the ultimate cautionary tale for brands. It changed the way companies approach "purpose-led marketing." You can’t just "parachuting" into a movement for a day. If you’re going to talk about social issues, you need to have a history of actually supporting them.
Real-world insights for 2026:
- Research is non-negotiable: If you’re using protest imagery, you better understand the current landscape of the people actually on the ground.
- Authenticity can't be faked: Gen Z and Millennials have a "cringe radar" that is incredibly sensitive to performative gestures.
- Diversity saves money: Having a diverse creative team isn't just a "nice to have"—it prevents multi-million dollar mistakes.
The Kendall Jenner Pepsi commercial isn't just a meme anymore. It's a permanent entry in marketing textbooks. It serves as a reminder that in the age of social media, the gap between a "global message of unity" and a "monumental PR fail" is often just one very poorly timed can of soda.
If you are looking to audit your own brand's messaging to avoid a "Pepsi moment," start by reviewing your internal vetting process. Look at who is in the room when big creative decisions are made. If everyone looks the same and thinks the same, you might be at risk for the same kind of blind spot that cost Pepsi millions in 2017.
The next step is to conduct a "cultural audit" of your upcoming campaigns. Bring in outside consultants or focus groups that reflect the demographics you are trying to reach. It's a small investment compared to the cost of a global apology tour.