On April 4th, 2017, Pepsico released its now-deleted ad, “Live for Now” commercial. This commercial was pulled after only one day of being on air due to the high amounts of conversive caused. The ad shows twenty-one-year-old Kendall Jenner as the leader of a protest in which she faces police officers barricading a group of individuals. During this face-off, she hands the police officer a can of Pepsi, which he responds to with a smile. Many thought this commercial was in poor taste due to all the current social movements and the violence that followed. For Pepsi to believe that a can of Pepsi would cause such a positive effect in a protest demonstrates the lack of connection Pepsi has with the natural world and its problems. The “Live for Now” commercial shows how Pepsi used a sensitive situation to gain public support, corporate greed and failed attempt to convey a message.
Pepsi tried to gain public support for its brand through social movements. The “Live for Now” commercial used imagery similar to those found in movements such as the Black Lives Movement and the Me Too movement. Many marketing and branding researchers have noticed that Pepsi used people of all identities to gain more support for their brand but failed due to the insensitive nature of the ad. By having everyone in the commercial
Pepsi used social movements for their corporate greed by using a can of Pepsi to
the protest.
