The Pepsi scandal: A PR fail that made history
Public Relations
Posted 23 Apr 2025
It only takes a bad advertisement or a thoughtless remark to start a full-fledged PR disaster and send a business into the deep end! The days of ignoring communication errors are long gone; they are now not ignored and frequently have more lasting effects than you would like. One of the most dramatic public relations disasters in recent memory will be examined in the sections that follow in order to determine how it occurred and what lessons can be drawn from it.
In 2017, Pepsi launched a major advertising campaign to show that its drink is more than just a refreshing product, but also a symbol of harmony and understanding. The outcome? An advert featuring Kendall Jenner taking part in a street protest and then handing a can of Pepsi to a police officer. This symbolic gesture was meant to foster peace and resolve differences – creating cohesion in troubled times. But what was meant to be a message of reconciliation was quickly seen as naive and highly problematic.
The Pepsi commercial, which aimed to promote peace and reconciliation, elicited a significant backlash due to its attempt to appropriate protest movements with a serious background. The commercial was met with a lack of comprehension by a significant number of individuals, who perceived it as a trivial solution to profound social issues.
Given the social reality, this representation was especially dubious because the commercial was released during a period when the Black Lives Matter movement was effectively inspiring people worldwide to oppose racism and police brutality. These demonstrations were frequently stirring, impactful, and, most importantly, authentic. In contrast, the Pepsi clip appeared slick, commercially, and almost unreal. Many were reminded of actual instances where protesters were violently put down, but in this case, a celebrity holding a can of soft drink was portrayed as the heroine.
The charge: Pepsi exploited societal instability for its own profit. The commercial, in the opinion of many, depoliticized the movement’s core and trivialized its seriousness. The public, media, and social networks all criticized this harshly. The combination of marketing aesthetics, celebrity glamour, and shallow symbolism was untimely and demonstrated how businesses often fall short when they attempt to address societal concerns without sufficient understanding.
The lesson to be learned? Social issues require the highest level of sensitivity. Social conflicts, in particular, cannot be settled in 30 seconds by a simple advertisement, and most definitely not by promoting a generic soft drink without a meaningful message.
A corporation must listen, show empathy, and take the situation seriously if it wishes to adopt a stance. Only when political remarks are sensitive, genuine, and respectfully confront social reality do they succeed in advertising. Since particular content can quickly be viewed as improper or controversial in a complicated political (and hence frequently emotionally charged) climate, timing is also very important. Campaigns should always be prepared in the context of current social and political developments.
If you don’t take these points into account, a well-intentioned commercial can quickly be misinterpreted as an insult, which in turn can lead to a fierce shitstorm.
If the social context is missed, well-meaning messages can easily turn into a communication aim, as demonstrated by the Pepsi case. Strong symbolism is insufficient, especially when dealing with delicate subjects; on the contrary, it can easily come across as shallow and even exacerbate preexisting tensions in the absence of depth and a certain instinct.
Businesses that participate in social discourse bear a heavy burden. It is essential to give considerable thought to how each topic is discussed and conveyed. Clarity, contextual knowledge, and the desire to listen as well as send are necessary in an era where communication is always being evaluated by the public. People that oversimplify complicated subjects or use emotional reality for marketing purposes soon risk losing their credibility and, consequently, their customers, who might end up reaching for a Coca-Cola rather than a Pepsi!
As an experienced communications agency with many years of expertise in crisis communications, we can help you to act confidently and strike the right tone even in sensitive situations. Whether it’s a matter of prevention or a worst-case scenario – we are at your side!
Feel free to write to us at vibes@hbi.de.
Junior Communication Consultant at HBI Communication Helga Bailey GmbH
Elena Sauter has been supporting HBI in the areas of PR and marketing since 2022. As a Junior Communication Consultant, her responsibilities include the creation of professional articles & the conceptualization of social media postings. Furthermore, Elena is involved in directly assisting our client work.
