Live for Now Pepsi Commercial (2017)

 Live for Now (2017)

The "Live for Now" Pepsi commercial couldn't have been released at a worse time. It now stands as a prime example of brands trying all that they can to get cash from consumers through performative gestures; people are now more outspoken any time a brand aligns itself with any movement. In the ad, the American model and socialite, Kendall Jenner leaves a photoshoot and joins in on an ambiguous protest in which everyone participating is peppy and racially diverse. At the ad's climax, Jenner walks over to a policeman off the side and hands him a can of Pepsi to which the crowd responds with excitement and celebration. Immediately upon the commercial's release, many began to lampoon the ad's creators and even Jenner herself, arguing that it was absolutely tone-deaf and did not reflect the reality of protests and their significance. No one was about to defend the commercial, and the creators of the ad would soon take it down and apologize. Apparently, the creative team behind the ad, the "Creators League Studio," had conceived of the commercial back in 2012 and actually made it real in 2017 seemingly to capture the cultural zeitgeist of social consciousness. Not only were audiences up in arms due to the rising social tensions around race at the time, the commercial would also signal a shift in the perception of how brands appealed to the masses. In the current day, as previously mentioned, there is an increased distrust of consumer brands and their marketing; because that's precisely what this controversy is indicative of, marketing. Consumer companies' prime directive is to sell, and so it's commonly believed that stunts such as these are not genuine in any way or conducive to helping push movements forward. While some similar marketing fails have been executed by other brands such as Bud Light and Dove, it's clear that they pail in comparison to the "Live for Now" Pepsi commercial primarily due to the time it was released.

Sources Used 

“A Case Study on Pepsi’s ‘Live for Now’ Campaign.” Thebrandhopper.com, 14 Sept. 2024, thebrandhopper.com/2024/09/14/a-case-study-on-pepsi-live-for-now-campaign/. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.

Abbas, Tahir. “Pepsi Crisis Management Case Study 2017: Lessons for Advertising.” CMI, 27 May 2023, changemanagementinsight.com/pepsi-crisis-management-case-study-2017/. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.

Macgregor, Jenna. “How Pepsi and Kendall Jenner Changed the Way Brands Talk about Social Justice.” Friday Things, 12 Apr. 2022, www.fridaythings.com/recent-posts/pepsi-commercial-kendall-jenner. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.

Muse, Tyler. “Pepsi’s Kendall Jenner Ad: Live for Now Falls Flat.” Www.historyoasis.com, 17 Jan. 2024, www.historyoasis.com/post/pepsi-kendall-jenner-ad. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.