Who knew sharing one can of Pepsi could fix the world's problems? Pepsi’s “Live for Now” campaign seemed to suggest a can of soda could fix some of the biggest problems within America’s social and political climate. The Pepsi Company may have missed the mark on this ad campaign, but luckily the public saw right through it. In this paper, we will draw from both the cultivation theory and the rhetorical situation, to display the ways in which the Pepsi commercial, “Live For Now”, featuring Kendall Jenner was labeled controversial. The problem with this campaign is it exploited the current political and social issues behind the Black Lives Matter Movement for monetary gain.
Pepsi teamed up with Kendall Jenner, a 21 year old model, for an ad campaign with the purpose of promoting unity and peace. This commercial sparked huge controversy when the public viewed Kendall Jenner solving Black Lives Matter issues with a can of soda. Millions of people watched this commercial on streaming sites and on live TV. In the ad, Kendall Jenner is in the middle of a photoshoot, and she notices a protest march due to their signs that read “Love”, “Join the Conversation” and “Peace”. Jenner decides to join this march, and heads to the front of the line. As Kendall is leading this march, she grabs a can of Pepsi. Next, Kendall spots an officer, whom she walks up to and hands him the can of Pepsi. Finally, the officer takes a sip of the Pepsi and everyone participating in the march, cheers.
Despite what the public’s takeaway was from this commercial, Pepsi had good intentions for broadcasting it. Pepsi created this campaign with the purpose of promoting peace and unity in America during turbulent times. We see Pepsi’s intended message for the campaign in this NBC News article: “Pepsi was trying to project a global message of unity, peace and understanding” (Smith). The targeted audience were Americans who felt a divide in the country due to various political and social issues including the topics addressed by the Black Lives Matter Movement. The CEO of Pepsi, Indra Nooyi, spoke out shortly after the ad went viral. Nooyi defended Pepsi and their ad’s intended message. The campaign allegedly meant to display people in happiness coming together in a peace march, not a protest march (Nooyi). Pepsi claimed they did not mean to make light of any social or political issue. The “Live for Now” ad was supposed to send good vibes to its audience, but society did not receive that message. The Pepsi company’s advertisement related to certain aspects of the time when this campaign was created. Starting in 2014, uprisings, protests against law enforcement, and the violence against African American communities has begun to be highlighted in the press. Instead of Pepsi taking a unified stance with their campaign, it insinuates the company was using turbulent issues as a way to advertise their product. Pepsi went about it the wrong way and failed to account for the raw feelings that the public felt towards these political and social issues.
Knowing the cultural context is essential in creating a commercial. Pepsi should have been aware of the current events happening in America and how their ad might highlight those issues, or else it could be problematic. This pop culture text uses current events as its genre to promote its message and brand. By using current events, Pepsi hopes to connect with the audience in a relatable way. Pepsi includes several scenes of someone drinking a soda with the label clearly visible as convention, or as a recurring element throughout their advertisements, because it boosts brand exposure. Pepsi decided to use popular social issues within their genre to freshly advertise their brand to the public. The “Live for Now” advertisement is in the classical genre stage because Pepsi included their conventions, but they also added current events so their audience could relate more easily and so they could stand out. This commercial follows a typical narrative arc. A narrative arc is the storyline consisting of a beginning, middle, and end including a conflict and resolution. The Pepsi ad begins with Kendall Jenner participating in a photoshoot. Next, Jenner sees a protest going on, which she later decides to join. The protest signifies the conflict of the story within the commercial. Finally, the commercial introduces the resolution within the ad when Kendall Jenner leads the march to a point where she gifts a policeman a can of Pepsi.
The social theories presented within the Kendall Jenner Pepsi commercial explained why the ad became a heavily disputed topic. Cultivation Theory is a social theory that explains how the constant exposure to violent behaviors on any media site, such as television, internet, and video games, can lead to significant long-term effects regarding what is occurring in everyday life (Potter 1016). A Rhetorical situation includes a context of characteristics that help to display an argument to an audience on a specific issue. A rhetor is the speaker of the campaign and the genre exemplifies the issue presented by the speaker. Kairos focuses on the appropriate time and place the information is being presented to the audience (Ciurel 44). The purpose displays what the argument is all about. In order to have a successful rhetorical situation, the rhetor must understand the audience's’ mind and thinking process (Prus 30).
George Gerbner developed the Cultivation Theory through discovering how mass media messages are generated within our public culture. Gerbner realized that media messages had the power to exert long term effects on society’s view of the world. “Gerbner created experiments in order to discover how specific aspects of media messages can help to explain the immediate responses in knowledge, attitude, and behaviors of the public” (qtd. in Potter 1016). George Gerbner’s cultivation theory provides insight on society’s view on the world because it is used as a way to gain the public’s attention through the use of fear. Cultivation Theory is used through media messages as a way to express the issues and problems that are going on within our society (Potter 1017).
Rhetoric became dominant within society because its major emphasis was on public speaking in the time of many Greek philosophers. Socrates, Plato, and Cicero started the revolution of rhetoric by starting to engage their public speaking skills through structure, language and delivery techniques (Prus 25). Aristotle created the groundwork of rhetoric that plays a major role within the understanding of public speaking today. Aristotle believed that through public speaking you would be able to influence your listeners into agreeing with your argument, which eventually led him to developing the idea of rhetoric (Prus 29). Aristotle’s idea of rhetoric was used as the art of persuasive communication (Mirhady 406). Rhetoric was used through his creation of the rhetorical situation, which was a way to influence listeners through the means of persuasion. Aristotle’s rhetorical situation uses the rhetor, the purpose, the Kairos, the genre and the audience all together in order to softly communicate a specific issue to the public. The rhetorical situation is used as a framework for speakers to develop and deliver the core value of their message to their audience in a way that will influence and persuade their audience to both listen and agree with the core values that are being presented.
The reason this commercial faced so much backlash after airing is because it uses “benevolent racism” to undermine the deeper issues behind the Black Lives Matter Movement and race inequality in general. The term “benevolent racism” is defined as “a seemingly race-conscious frame that acknowledges and ostensibly condemns a system of White privilege and racial inequality, but does so in a way that legitimizes and reinforces racist attitudes, policies and practices in the…name of uplifting the black community” (Esposito and Romano). In other words, Pepsi’s ad was so controversial because it looked like it was supporting protests and the Black Lives Matter Movement, but in reality, they belittled the issue and perpetuated racist ideologies. After Obama was elected in 2012, people began to think racism had disappeared and many people assumed that we were living in a “post-racial” society. This caused people in the African American community to push for a more honest discussion of racial matters in the U.S., and this was the foundation for the Black Lives Matter Movement (Esposito and Roman).
The Black Lives Matter Movement (BLMM) actually began on Twitter, when Alicia Garza used the hashtag (#BlackLivesMatter) in response to “George Zimmerman’s acquittal for the murder of Trayvon Martin” (Esposito and Roman). The hashtag caught on quickly with young activists and organizations fighting for racial equality using social media as a platform. The movement’s central aims were to end racism within law enforcement and improve the life chances for black youths. Due to its massive popularity, the phrase became a slogan for groups protesting the unauthorized executions of African Americans by law enforcement and other issues in the BLMM. As BLMM began to take off, uprisings and protests occurred in order challenge the “de-valuation of Black lives” (Esposito and Roman).
The Black Lives Matter Movement has received widespread media attention world-wide. Response to the coverage of the movement has been “defensive, condescending, and dismissive of the plight of Black Americans” (Esposito and Roman 162). The BLMM has been criticized by right-leaning media and a few other sources, but many people support and agree with the issue. People who are against the BLMM have claimed that it has “weakened policing, ignored Black on Black crimes, and overlooked” the “abortion epidemic” within the African American community (Esposito and Romano). Harsh critiques of the movement are most likely due to the way that African Americans are portrayed in mainstream media; often times, protests are overlooked and the focus is put on the crimes that African Americans commit. Americans are seeing the faults of the Black community highlighted on the news, and it reinforces their long-standing white racial fears and loathing towards African Americans without explicitly using racist terminology.
Unfortunately, our popular culture text was so current that there were not many scholarly articles detailing research done on the topic. It was an extremely hot-button issue worldwide, so there was heavy media coverage regarding the topic. The reaction to the Pepsi commercial featuring Kendall Jenner was widely negative and it made so many people upset that Pepsi decided to pull the advertisement within a day of its debut and issued a Tweet apologizing. The media then set out to explain exactly the social issues behind the commercial, and Teen Vogue published an article explaining that it was not the right time or context for this commercial. Even though the commercial seemed to be offering support for protests, it was released at the wrong time, and not at the “apex” of the issue (Elizabeth). Doing so after the issue had fizzled out a bit made the commercial come off as “co-opting and performative,” because Pepsi wasn’t actually offering commentary, they were using the issue simply for views and monetary gain (Elizabeth).
The use of social theories such as cultivation theory and rhetoric play a major role within the depths of the “Live for Now” advertisement because they clearly express how Pepsi wanted to use the current events happening in society as a way to help advertise their brand to their audience, instead they absolutely misunderstood their audience by trying to influence them on issues that they were deeply affected by. There were many people within the advertisement holding multiple signs with the same message, which says “Join our Conversation”. Pepsi used this slogan as a way to explain to their audience that we need to fight against these traumatic events that are destroying us as a society as a whole by coming together and drinking Pepsi. Pepsi used the cultivation theory by displaying their commercial as a mass media message that would help to influence the attitudes and behaviors of their audience through the use of fear and turmoil. (Potter 1016). Pepsi deciding to use Kendall Jenner as the main media figure within their commercial exposes Pepsi’s uses of the cultivation theory because they thought she was prominent and symbolic enough to make difference that would help to draw in potential audience members to their brand. (Potter 1016). Cultivation Theory uses symbolic functions within message systems to create assumptions about life and the world. (qtd.in Potter 1017). The main purpose of Pepsi demonstrating the cultivation theory within their commercial was to use the defining and traumatic issues of today’s society as a way to help promote their brand and their name as a company.
The public receiving this commercial felt as if Pepsi was making a mockery of these devastating issues that people are forced to deal with every day by trying to advertise their product. The audience discovered how Pepsi did not take into consideration all the specific factors within the rhetorical situation, which led their audience not to be persuaded to buy the Pepsi product, but instead to be disgusted with the Pepsi company. Pepsi, the rhetor, lost the importance of influencing their audience by failing to exhibit the genre and Kairos of the “Live for Now” ad in an appealing manner. Within the ad, the genre was defined in a weak manner because it mainly focused on the inventions of society. Pepsi did not include many conventions from their previous advertisements and the audience realized this and felt that the use of these current events within this commercial were too raw and too private to be used in order to advertise a can of soda. The audience grew angry towards the “Live for Now” ad because people felt the Kairos of this commercial was completely wrong. The public felt that the timing and place of the “Live for Now” ad was very inappropriate because the issues within the Black Lives Matter Movement and police brutality were still very prominent within society. People felt personally violated in the scene when Kendall Jenner walks over to the police officer because they felt as if Pepsi was insinuating that a media figure offering a police officer a Pepsi can is the answer to the issues within the Black Lives Matter Movement. Pepsi’s purpose within the ad was to unite society as a whole and promote peace through the sharing of beverages within a dominant and fearless scene. However, it also made the audience feel as if Pepsi was degrading social issues because the company made it seem like it was so easy for everyone to get along by simply offering a can of soda. The most essential reason why Pepsi rhetoric was not as solid within the “Live for Now” advertisement as they thought it was going to be was because they did not take into consideration the audiences’ personal connections to these issues. Pepsi received a lot of backlash after exhibiting this ad to the public. Therefore, Pepsi to withdrew their commercial campaign.
The infamous advertisement was supposed to be a celebration of the changing values of society and how they represented hope for the future. Kendall Jenner would be considered to be the perfect person to signal a shift in desired aesthetic, when she decides to remove her makeup and join the revolution. However, when Jenner takes off her wig in the ad, she cavalierly hands it to a perplexed black woman. This specific scene within the commercial angered a lot of people because instead of celebrating the coming together of all different people who are passionate enough to protest, it stands as a display of white privilege. When Kendall Jenner handing over her wig to an African American woman, it implies within the advertisement that the African American woman is waiting on Kendall Jenner and fails to include her in the actual protest. Pepsi could have promoted their message of unity more successfully if both of the women joined the protest together, instead of Jenner leaving the African American woman behind.
Finally, at the end of the commercial, Jenner walks up to the line of policemen to hand one officer a Pepsi and single-handedly ends police brutality as the crowd cheers. This image clearly echoes a photo of a specific black woman, Ieshia Evans, bravely standing up to police in riot gear at a BLM protest in Baton Rouge last July. Ieshia Evans and Kendall Jenner cannot be compared the way that Pepsi did. Evans was trying to peacefully make an impact through a simple gesture towards law enforcement, and even though Jenner was trying to make a similar statement, this message was presented in poor taste.
The message of this ad was to promote unity and peace. Unfortunately, Pepsi failed at sending an uplifting message and instead, offended its audience. This ad can be portrayed as problematic because the reaction of viewers was critical. Pepsi had to take down the ad due to the backlash. The cycle of genre that is now in operation after Pepsi had received explosive backlash from their audience members is the revisionist stage. Pepsi is in the revisionist stage of the cycle because they now needed to revise the “Live for Now” ad and try to deliver a new advertisement that relates to the cultural needs of society and that takes into consideration the viewpoints of the public. (Brandt and Clare 59). Pepsi’s revisionist stage is constantly going to keep shifting because they have to relate their advertisements and their products to the current events of the world.
The problems that arose surrounding the advertisement indicates a positive change in society, because they were able to notice the correlation between benevolent racism and the Black Lives Matter Movement within this commercial. There is also something to be said about the fact that there was so much backlash, that the commercial has become somewhat iconic. Almost every aspect of this controversy, from the beginning of the Black Lives Matter Movement to Pepsi’s apology, has taken place on Twitter which allows everyone to see revisions instantly. The world is becoming more socially aware of current events and through the employment of social media, they are able to share their findings with similarly minded individuals.
Kendall Jenner and Pepsi shocked the world with the release of an ad campaign that implied a model with a soda could solve the deep rooted issues behind the Black Lives Matter campaign. Pepsi wanted to use the cultivation theory as a way to open the hearts of people all within society. This advertisement ignores the feelings of individuals who experience racism and police brutality on a daily basis. Many audience members saw directly through the rhetoric of this ad campaign and felt personally disgusted with Pepsi’s actions, in both producing and displaying this advertisement to the public media.