When Kendall Jenner handed a police officer a can of Pepsi on April 4, 2017, PepsiCo thought it had created a unifying moment. Instead, the brand triggered one of advertising’s most catastrophic backlashes in modern history. Within 24 hours, Pepsi pulled the commercial titled “Jump In” from all platforms, issued multiple apologies, and watched helplessly as its brand sentiment crashed from positive 2% to negative 12% on Twitter.
The damage was immediate, brutal, and entirely self-inflicted. The Kendall Jenner Pepsi ad wasn’t just a bad commercial. It was a masterclass in tone-deaf marketing that appropriated Black Lives Matter imagery, cast a privileged white supermodel as the hero of racial justice, and suggested that soda could solve police brutality.
Crisis Timeline:
- April 4, 2017: “Jump In” ad releases across digital platforms
- Same day afternoon: Twitter explodes, social media mentions surge 7,500%
- April 5, 1:30pm EST: Pepsi pulls ad (less than 24 hours after release)
- April 8: Brand sentiment crashes from positive 2% to negative 12%
- Purchase consideration drops from 28% to 20% in 8 days
- Recovery time: 9 months to return to pre-crisis levels
Critics accused Pepsi of trivializing movements where people risked their lives. Activist DeRay McKesson, who organized protests in Ferguson, told NBC News the ad diminished the seriousness and gravity of why protesters got into the streets. Martin Luther King Jr.’s daughter Bernice King tweeted sarcastically, “If only Daddy would have known about the power of Pepsi.”
Saturday Night Live parodied it. The internet mocked it relentlessly. And Pepsi learned an expensive lesson about what happens when brands co-opt activism without understanding it. The Kendall Jenner Pepsi ad became a case study in what not to do, teaching an entire generation of marketers about the dangers of performative activism.
The Ad That Missed Every Mark
The Commercial That Appropriated Black Lives Matter
The Kendall Jenner Pepsi ad opened with diverse young people pursuing their passions. An Asian cellist plays on a rooftop. A photographer snaps pictures. A woman wearing a hijab takes photos with professional equipment. Then Kendall Jenner appears at a photo shoot in a blonde wig and silver dress. Outside, a protest march moves down clean streets with model-beautiful protesters.
The protesters smile, dance, and celebrate like they’re at a festival rather than a demonstration. The vibe is jubilant, colorful, unthreatening. Protesters hold vague signs reading “Join the Conversation,” “Peace,” and “Love.” A handsome man with a cello beckons Jenner to join. She rips off her wig, wipes away her dark lipstick, and walks into the crowd wearing casual denim.
Ad Elements:
- Nearly three-minute commercial titled “Jump In”
- Produced by Creators League Studio (PepsiCo’s in-house agency)
- Kendall Jenner as central character leaving photo shoot to join protest
- Vague signs reading “Join the Conversation,” “Peace,” “Love”
- Climactic scene: Jenner hands Pepsi to police officer, crowd cheers
- Soundtrack: “Lions” by Skip Marley
- Released April 4, 2017 (49th anniversary of MLK Jr.’s assassination)
The march continues with breakdancing and high-fiving. Finally, Jenner spots a line of police officers. She grabs a Pepsi from a cooler, approaches an officer, and hands it to him. He takes a sip. The crowd cheers. A woman in a hijab photographs the moment. The screen reads: “Live bolder. Live louder. Live for now.”
According to Pepsi, the ad was designed to “truly reflect today’s generation and what living for now looks like.” The press release stated Jenner “exemplifies owning ‘Live For Now’ moments.” The ad premiered April 4, 2017, the 49th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, a timing that made the tone-deafness even more glaring.
The Real-World Context Pepsi Ignored
The Kendall Jenner Pepsi ad arrived amid ongoing Black Lives Matter protests responding to police shootings of African Americans. In July 2016, nine months before Pepsi’s ad, Alton Sterling was killed by police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Days later, Philando Castile was shot during a traffic stop in Minnesota. Protests erupted nationwide.
In Baton Rouge, photographer Jonathan Bachman captured an iconic image of Ieshia Evans, a 28-year-old nurse, standing alone in a flowing dress as heavily armored police approached. Evans was arrested moments later along with 102 other protesters including prominent activist DeRay McKesson. This image of Evans, serene and defiant before police in riot gear, became a defining symbol of Black Lives Matter.
Real Protest Context:
- July 2016: Alton Sterling killed by police in Baton Rouge
- Days later: Philando Castile shot during traffic stop in Minnesota
- Ieshia Evans image: Nurse standing before heavily armored police (arrested moments later)
- Protests involved tear gas, rubber bullets, arrests, and violence
- People risked safety, jobs, and freedom to demand justice
- Pepsi’s ad directly referenced this imagery but trivialized the danger
The contrast between Evans’s peaceful stance and the militarized police response captured the movement’s core message about disproportionate force. Protesters faced tear gas, rubber bullets, arrests, and violence. These demonstrations weren’t parties. They were dangerous. People risked their safety, jobs, and freedom to demand justice.
Pepsi’s ad directly referenced this imagery. The climactic scene, Kendall Jenner approaching police with a Pepsi, visually echoed Ieshia Evans approaching police in Baton Rouge. But where Evans faced potential violence for standing up for racial justice, Jenner’s character faced cheers for offering soda. The trivialization was immediate and obvious to anyone familiar with actual protests.
The 24-Hour Implosion
When Social Media Exploded
The response was instant condemnation. Entertainment Weekly called it “a tone-deaf attempt to co-opt a movement of political resistance.” Social media users compared Kendall Jenner’s scene to Ieshia Evans’s arrest. One Twitter user wrote sarcastically, “I get it now. If Black Lives Matter protesters had handed a Pepsi to the cops, they wouldn’t have gotten tear-gassed.”
Others mocked the vague protest signs and model-beautiful demonstrators. The hashtag #PepsiLivesMatter trended with scathing commentary. The backlash crossed demographics. According to social media analytics, 58% of critical tweets came from people aged 35 and above, followed by 18% from ages 25-34.
Backlash Timeline:
- April 4, morning: Pepsi releases “Jump In” ad across digital platforms
- April 4, afternoon: Twitter explodes with criticism, memes, and outrage
- April 4, evening: Social media mentions surge 7,500% day-over-day
- April 5, 9:15am: Bernice King tweets “If only Daddy would have known about the power of Pepsi”
- April 5, 1:30pm EST: Pepsi pulls ad from YouTube and all platforms
- April 5, afternoon: Pepsi issues official apology statement
- April 8: Twitter sentiment drops to negative 12%, down 14 percentage points
Millennials and Gen Z users, Pepsi’s target audience, led the mockery. Celebrities joined the pile-on. Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel expressed disbelief that the ad made it through multiple meetings and approvals. The criticism focused on three main points: appropriating serious protest movements for profit, casting a privileged white supermodel as the protest hero, and suggesting soda could resolve systemic racism.
The Apology That Made Things Worse
Brad Jakeman, then president of PepsiCo Global Beverage Group and creator of Creators League Studio, had tweeted proudly about the campaign on April 4. By 1:30pm on April 5, the ad was pulled. Pepsi issued a statement: “Pepsi was trying to project a global message of unity, peace and understanding. Clearly we missed the mark, and we apologize.”
The statement continued: “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.” That last sentence, apologizing to Jenner, drew additional criticism. Many noted Jenner was a paid professional who participated willingly.
Why Apology Failed:
- Apologized to Kendall Jenner as if she were victim rather than paid participant
- Framed privileged supermodel as harmed party instead of communities whose struggles were trivialized
- Drew additional criticism for deflection from core issues
- TMZ reported Jenner had no creative involvement, received script as “done deal”
- October 2017: Jenner addressed it emotionally on Keeping Up With The Kardashians
The apology framed her as a victim rather than a participant, which struck observers as deflection. Jenner never made public statements at the time, though TMZ reported she had no involvement in the creative process and received a script as a “done deal.” Six months later, on October 2017’s Keeping Up With The Kardashians, Jenner addressed it emotionally, saying she never intended to hurt anyone.
The Brand Damage That Followed
The Numbers Tell a Devastating Story
YouGov BrandIndex data revealed the scale of destruction. The day before the Kendall Jenner Pepsi ad went live, Pepsi had 2% net positive sentiment on Twitter. By April 8, four days later, sentiment sat at negative 12%, a 14-percentage-point crash. This marked the first time Pepsi entered negative territory since YouGov began tracking nearly a decade earlier.
The brand’s Buzz score, measuring whether consumers heard positive or negative things about Pepsi, plummeted similarly in both the US and UK markets. Purchase consideration, a key indicator of potential revenue, suffered immediate damage. On April 4, 28% of US adults said they’d consider buying Pepsi next time they wanted carbonated drinks. By April 12, that number had fallen to 20%.
Brand Damage Statistics:
- Twitter sentiment: Dropped from positive 2% to negative 12% (14-point plunge in 4 days)
- Social media mentions: Up 7,500% day-over-day April 3-4
- General purchase consideration: Dropped from 28% to 20% in 8 days
- Millennial purchase consideration: Fell from 27% to 24% (April to July 2017)
- Brand perception: Reached lowest levels in over 8 years
- Buzz score: Fell from positive 5 to negative 6 in US, negative 1 to negative 12 in UK
- Recovery time: 9 months to return to pre-crisis perception levels
Among millennials specifically, Pepsi’s target demographic for the ad, consideration dropped from 27% in early April to 24% by mid-July 2017. This represented a continuation of a longer decline from 33% in 2014, but the Kendall Jenner Pepsi ad accelerated the fall dramatically. The brand perception numbers were equally grim.
Pepsi’s Impression score, measuring whether consumers have favorable views of the brand, fell 10 points in the US and 5 points in the UK. According to YouGov, Pepsi’s perception remained stuck in a “trough” from May through July 2017, the lowest levels seen in at least eight years of tracking. It took five months, until September 2017, for Pepsi’s Buzz score to climb back to pre-crisis levels of positive 11.
The Long-Term Damage to Millennial Relationships
However, even as general perception recovered, purchase consideration with millennials never fully rebounded. By April 2018, one year after the ad, millennial purchase consideration sat at 23%, lower than the 27% pre-crisis level. The long-term damage to Pepsi’s relationship with younger consumers, the very audience the ad targeted, proved lasting.
Pepsi Fire, a limited-edition cinnamon spicy soda released in summer 2017, temporarily boosted November 2017 consideration to 29% during football season, but numbers trailed back to 23% by year’s end, the lowest since April 2015. The millennial damage demonstrated how brand missteps can permanently erode relationships with key demographics despite recovery efforts.
Long-Term Impact:
- Millennial purchase consideration never recovered to pre-crisis 27% level
- One year later (April 2018): Still at 23%, 4 points below pre-crisis
- Pepsi Fire provided temporary boost to 29% (November 2017)
- By year’s end: Back to 23% (lowest since April 2015)
- Proved brand missteps can permanently damage key demographic relationships
The Cultural Appropriation Problem
Why In-House Creative Failed
The Kendall Jenner Pepsi ad was produced entirely by Creators League Studio, PepsiCo’s in-house content creation arm launched to bypass traditional advertising agencies. Brad Jakeman believed in-house teams could work faster and cheaper while maintaining PepsiCo’s brand identity against Coca-Cola. The insularity created blind spots.
No one questioned whether appropriating protest imagery was appropriate. No one asked if Kendall Jenner, with no activist history and family accused of cultural appropriation, should represent unity. No one considered the MLK Jr. assassination anniversary timing. Indra Nooyi, PepsiCo’s CEO, told Fortune five months later: “This company is known for diversity, and the fact that everybody who produced the commercial and approved the commercial did not link it to Black Lives Matter made me scratch my head.”
In-House Agency Problems:
- Creators League Studio team was entirely white (no diverse perspectives)
- No external review layers to catch tone-deaf ideas before production
- Cost-cutting prioritized over quality control and cultural sensitivity
- Filmed in Bangkok with extras unaware of US racial justice protests
- Multiple approval meetings somehow missed obvious appropriation issues
- Traditional agencies would have flagged Black Lives Matter imagery concerns
Woke Washing Versus Authentic Activism
The Kendall Jenner Pepsi ad failed because it committed woke washing, the practice of superficially adopting social justice language to boost profits without genuine commitment to causes. Pepsi had no history of supporting racial justice movements. Kendall Jenner had no reputation as a social activist. The ad’s protesters weren’t upset about anything specific.
This contrasts sharply with Nike’s 2016 “Dream Crazy” campaign featuring Colin Kaepernick, often cited as effective social justice marketing. Kaepernick was a Black athlete who sacrificed his NFL career to protest racial injustice by kneeling during the national anthem. Nike’s ad featured someone who had lived the struggle, not a privileged outsider cosplaying activism.
What Made Nike Succeed Where Pepsi Failed:
- Authentic spokesperson: Kaepernick sacrificed career for activism vs Jenner with no activist history
- Clear message: Specific support for racial justice vs vague “unity and peace”
- Community connection: Nike supported actual athletes and causes vs Pepsi’s performative protest
- Risk acceptance: Nike expected backlash but stood firm vs Pepsi’s immediate retreat
- Long-term commitment: Nike maintained support post-campaign vs Pepsi’s one-off opportunism
The casting of Kendall Jenner amplified the problem. As a wealthy white supermodel from a reality TV family, Jenner represented privilege. The Kardashian-Jenner family had faced longstanding accusations of cultural appropriation and profiting from Black culture without experiencing Black struggles. Placing Jenner at the center of a protest mimicking Black Lives Matter sent the message that white saviors solve racial injustice.
The Kendall Jenner Pepsi ad also trivialized the real dangers protesters face. Elle Hearns, a former BLM organizer, told the New York Times the ad “plays down the sacrifices people have historically taken in utilizing protests.” Real demonstrations involve risk. Protesters face tear gas, arrests, and violence. Ieshia Evans was arrested. Alton Sterling and Philando Castile were killed.
What It Taught Corporate America
The Case Study That Changed Marketing
The Kendall Jenner Pepsi ad became a case study in what not to do. Marketing programs now teach it as the definitive example of woke washing failure. The campaign demonstrated that consumers detect inauthenticity instantly and mobilize against it through social media. The ad changed how brands approached activism post-2017.
When George Floyd’s murder sparked protests in 2020, companies referenced the Pepsi disaster as a guide for what to avoid. Brands offered concrete actions like donations rather than empty slogans. Starbucks donated $1 million to racial equity grants and allowed employees to wear BLM apparel. YouTube pledged $1 million. Netflix and Marvel named anti-Black racism specifically.
Lessons Learned:
- Consumers detect inauthenticity instantly in social media age
- Diverse creative teams aren’t just ethical, they’re essential business protection
- In-house agencies focused on speed and cost can produce catastrophically tone-deaf content
- Appropriating real struggle to sell products backfires immediately
- Performative activism requires better execution, not just better intentions
- Social justice marketing needs authentic connection to causes
However, changes remained largely performative. Brands turned donations into public spectacles, often selling logo products. The fundamental motivation remained profit with better execution. The Pepsi disaster taught brands to perform activism more convincingly, not necessarily believe in it authentically.
The Cultural Legacy
Saturday Night Live parodied the Kendall Jenner Pepsi ad days after it aired. The Boys television series recreated it satirically in 2022, demonstrating how the disaster entered popular culture as shorthand for corporate tone-deafness. Marketing students worldwide study it as the textbook example of how not to do brand activism.
Kendall Jenner reportedly felt devastated by the backlash. Brad Jakeman departed PepsiCo in 2017. Indra Nooyi stepped down as CEO in 2018 after 12 years. Creators League Studio’s reputation never recovered. The ad itself lives on primarily as a cautionary tale, referenced whenever brands consider jumping into social movements.
The Bottom Line
The Kendall Jenner Pepsi ad stands as one of advertising’s most spectacular failures, not because it was offensive in vacuum, but because it crystallized everything wrong with corporate woke washing. Pepsi appropriated Black Lives Matter imagery while having no authentic connection to racial justice. It cast a privileged white supermodel as the protest hero. It suggested soda could solve police brutality on the 49th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination.
Why This Failed:
- Appropriated Black Lives Matter imagery without authentic connection to racial justice
- Cast privileged white supermodel as hero trivialized real protesters’ sacrifices
- Suggested soda could solve police brutality and systemic racism
- Released on 49th anniversary of MLK Jr.’s assassination
- In-house agency lacked diverse perspectives to catch obvious problems
- Woke washing performed activism without genuine commitment
The numbers tell a devastating story. Brand sentiment crashed 14 percentage points in four days. Social media mentions exploded 7,500%. Purchase consideration among millennials fell from 27% to 24% and never recovered. Pepsi endured its lowest brand perception levels in over eight years. The ad was pulled in less than 24 hours, but the damage lingered for months.
More importantly, the Kendall Jenner Pepsi ad taught an entire generation of marketers about the dangers of performative activism. It demonstrated that consumers see through superficial social justice messaging. It proved that diverse creative teams aren’t just ethical, they’re essential business protection. It showed that in-house agencies focused on speed and cost savings can produce catastrophically tone-deaf content.
Key Lessons:
- Consumers mobilize instantly against inauthenticity through social media
- Long-term damage to key demographics (millennials) persisted beyond general recovery
- Five months required to return to pre-crisis perception levels
- Celebrity spokesperson choices matter when addressing social movements
- Appropriating real struggle to sell products backfires in social media age
- Marketing case study taught industry what not to do
The ad reminded every brand that appropriating real struggle to sell products will backfire instantly in the social media age. The Kendall Jenner Pepsi ad became the definitive case study teaching corporate America that performative activism without authentic connection guarantees disaster. Brands learned to perform activism more convincingly post-2017, though whether they learned to believe in it authentically remains questionable.
