Back in 2017, I thought the Pepsi ad with Kendall Jenner was just a dumb mistake.

Figured it would blow over in a week. But the backlash was huge, like 24 hours of solid anger online. They pulled it and apologized, but the damage was done. Anyone remember another ad that missed the mark that badly?

3 comments

3 Comments

caleb_thomas8513d ago

Honestly, that whole thing got so overblown. Sure, it was a clumsy ad trying to cash in on a serious mood, but people acted like it was a war crime. Remember the Burger King "women belong in the kitchen" tweet for International Women's Day? That was just as bad, maybe worse. Brands mess up trying to be relevant all the time. We give these ads way too much power and attention, feeding the outrage cycle. Most folks just saw it, cringed, and moved on with their day.

holly71313d ago

Used to roll my eyes at the outrage too, but @xena1 made a good point. Now I see it's the only way these brands ever learn.

xena113d ago

Totally agree it's part of a bigger pattern now. Feels like we're all just waiting for the next dumb thing to happen so we can have our two minutes of being mad online. These brands absolutely deserve the side-eye, but the performative anger gets so tiring. It just makes everyone dig in their heels instead of having a real talk about why the ads are bad in the first place.