The Pepsi advertisement, “Live for Now” was released on April 4th of 2017. The rhetorical strategies that Pepsi uses within the commercial are repetition, metaphor, symbolism, imagery and juxtaposition. The commercial is juxtaposed with the controversy surrounding the Pepsi advertisement, which features Kendall Jenner, a Kardashian, the first family of American entrepreneurial celebrity. The sheer racism in the advertisement portrayed how African Americans are seen as less than the Caucasians in society. In the clip, Jenner leaves behind her modelling shoot and blond wig, breaking ranks on a vague protest march by handing a handsome white police officer a Pepsi and singlehandedly solving racially motivated police brutality, at least for the moment.
Pepsi’s target audience has changed over the years as the culture evolves over the years. As Pepsi’s reputation grew, they needed to incorporate a more diverse audience into its market in order to sell their product. Pepsi uses the protest as an emotional appeal to their audience. The protest in the commercial are very similar to the ones happening in present day, like the Black Lives Matter movement (BLM). The imagery in the commercial showed some similarity to the BLM movement when policemen were shown trying to stop the protest, where the police are seen as the bad guys. The people protesting in the video is similar to the people protesting in reality, who are the young minority. Having relevant issues and relatable people presented in the commercial is an effective way in which the advertisers related to their audience. In a way, Pespi is saying that they understand what their audience is facing and they are establishing compassion. Connecting to an audience is very effective because it creates a relationship between the advertisers and their audience. When Pepsi created this commercial they failed to show empathy and cultural awareness for their audience. However, Pepsi ignored the harsh realities of the police and those who have direct experience with it and disregarded the seriousness of the issue completely. By revolving the entire commercial around an unrealistic depiction of a Black Lives Matter march, it shows America’s style of slavery, where Black Americans have been classified in the country’s history. American’s tends to not acknowledge any subtleties or differences, like they are separate communities and cultures of African-American immigrants. They are Black, and they are treated like they are Black.
When Jenner walks up to the police, it symbolizes the real-life incident during a Black Lives Matter protest, where female protester Ieshia Evans tried to approach heavily armed police in riot gear in Louisiana in 2016. Unlike Jenner, who wins a smile and applause, Evans was arrested and charged by police. Kendall Jenner is white and wealthy, people have criticized the ‘tone deaf’ ad for exploitation. Jenner’s sugar-coated version of real-life protests just goes to highlight her privilege and the inequality that exists in the world.
Pepsi’s attempt to show black people fighting for their rights, is that it completely excludes black women from any meaningful part of the protest action. Even though, black women were a core part of the civil rights movement in the 1960s. It was black women who organized the original Million Woman March in Philadelphia in 1997. People of colour were relegated to side. The only black woman Pepsi had thought out the entire video was forced to hold Jenner’s blond wig as she walked out to join the protest.
The effectiveness of the commercial took a downfall because of Kendall Jenner’s ethos. The Kardashian-Jenner family is known to be very controversial. Although, Kendall is not a Kardashian, she is affiliated with them because Kendall’s half sisters are Kardashians. Before Kendall joins the march, she removes her wig, bold lipstick and the photoshoot dress. When Kendall joins the march she is shown in natural makeup and in the most cliche “casual” outfit: all denim. The ethos established by Pepsi was unsuccessful for the commercial. Throughout the commercial Pepsi was building up the ethos that they were creating for themselves. The commercial begins with the opening of a can op Pepsi. We then see cans of Pepsi repeatedly throughout the commercial like on a countertop. The Pepsi logo has a specific shade of blue which is easily notable. Repetition is used with the Pepsi can and its notable colours, as the blue colours are placed in different shots throughout the commercial, especially in the march. This builds an emphasis on the product and makes sure you don’t forget the advertisements actual purpose. At the end of the commercial, metaphor is used during the interaction between Jenner and the officer towards the end of the commercial, where she gives the officer the can of Pepsi and he accepts it, it symbolizes an agreement for peace. After he takes a sip, the crowd cheers symbolizing that all issues have been solved. Kendall Jenner starring as the “hero” of the company’s advertisement corrupted Pepsi’s strategic way of gaining consumers. The Kardashian family has always been publicly known for robbing African American culture, and the scene of Kendall Jenner handing the Pepsi soda can to the police officer depicts just that. In reality, African Americans or other minorities cannot just give an officer a treat to receive a basic human right in American society. The advertisement exemplified the idea of being privileged because Kendall Jenner was able to interrupt the protest without having any background knowledge of what was going on; however, she was still able to save the day. Having Jenner as the star of the commercial corrupted the Pepsi company’s credibility.
After analyzing this commercial through a deeper lens, it carries many principles of communication and rhetoric. However, it fails to amuse the audience due to its depiction of the Black Lives Matter movement. Instead, the advertisement shows the white priviledge and that the blacks are silenced. Large corporations will continue to produce rhetoric that the public is unable to connect to, or that is found offensive or false-hearted.