On September
28, I wrote a blog on the Pepsi Ad starring Kendall Jenner. A similar blog was
posted byKim van Loon. However, it seems that we don’t see eye to eye whether Pepsi
responded correctly or not. To give you a quick freshen up. Below you can watch
the Pepsi Ad. And if you want to read more about the backlash the ad got, please
check my previous blogpost.
Pepsi Ad starring
Kendall Jenner. Credits: YouTube – Kendall and Kylie
What we agree on
In both our
blogs we reflected on the role of the audience, stating that nowadays the
audience can frame news. In de case of the Pepsi ad, this meant that the
audience added a negative connotation to the content. This negative frame was
then viewed by many other viewers, which created a crisis situation (vander Meer, 2018).
One way of quickly
figuring out the responds of the audience is by checking Twitter. Twitter provides
with an excellent way to keep up with real-time updates and thus feedback to
your content (Eriksson,2018). In the case of Pepsi, twitter was used a lot.
Where we disagree
Where we disagree
on is the response given by Pepsi. Kim van Loons blogpost states that Pepsi did
well by responding with an apology within 24 hours. But that is not what Pepsi
did! Their first response backed up their ad. Obviously, this respond cannot be
found on the Pepsi website anymore, but here are two sources: 1
2.
So, their first
response was to deny that there was a crisis situation. According to Coombs(2015) denying any responsibility to a crisis situation, is a way to
respond to a crisis. However, in this case, it is not. Denial is used when
there is a misinterpretation which links an organization to a crisis, for
example a name mix-up. In the case of Pepsi, that is just not the way to go.
Pepsi’s
second response indeed was the right response. They apologized and stated that
they didn’t intend to create controversy. However, they also added an apology
to Kendall Jenner to their statement. I think apologizing to Kendall Jenner is a
good thing, but it should have been done in private. Adding the Kendall Jenner
Apology created backlash and could have created a brand-new crisis. It is safe
to say that the goal for Pepsi with the apology was definitely NOT to create a
new crisis.
Concluding advice
A lot can
be learned from the way Pepsi handled the crisis. Even though they responded
quickly, they did not respond adequately. I would strongly advice Pepsi, and any
organization for that matter to respond quickly but wisely. I believe it is better
to respond in 36 hours with the right respond, than to respond within 24 hours
with the kind of response that only adds fuel to fire. Obviously, the Pepsi ad
is an excellent example, but this advice could be used by PR professional everywhere.
About:
Ilse Weergang has a BA degree in Musicology, and is currently enrolled in a MA Entertainment Communication. She likes to make and listen to music and she enjoys the outdoors.
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