According to data from Amobee Brand Intelligence, digital content engagement around Pepsi has increased significantly(366 percent in just a day), but 43 percent has mentioned Black Lives Matter, 31 percent has labeled the ad as “tone-deaf” and 10 percent has tagged it as the “worst ever.” Amobee also looked at content engagement around the term “tone-deaf” in the last day, and 77 percent of digital content using the term mentioned Kendall Jenner and Pepsi.
So what happened? How did Pepsi get here and what can marketers learn from this debacle?
“Pepsi should have consulted people who have actually been on the front lines of protests these recent years, ” explained writer, social worker and activist Feminista Jones. “The organizers, protesters, educators … all of those who have been instrumental in bringing about these recent movements for justice. Brands should never make light of social issues related to people’s suffering; they should, instead, focus on selling their products in ways that don’t exploit the pain and suffering of marginalized people.”