Kendall Jenner would very much like to be excluded from this narrative*

Screenshot taken from @BerniceKing's Twitter account

You’d be hard pressed to find someone who hasn’t seen or heard about Pepsi’s controversial campaign where the company co-opts social justice protests, with particularly tone-deaf allusions to the Black Lives Matter movement. You really have to go out of your way for Bernice King (daughter of civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr.) to comment on your advertisement. All in a day’s work for members of the Kardashian-Jenner family.

PepsiGate

The Pepsi crisis has been covered in more depth with a specific focus on crisis management. Opinions on Pepsi’s response to the backlash vary, and I’d say it ultimately depends on which aspect you focus on, be it defending (👎) or pulling (👍) the ad – Ilse Weergang and Kim van Loon, respectively. But let’s back up. Pepsi isn’t the first brand to have hijacked a social issue. Pepsi isn’t even the first cola company to do so. In 1971, Coca Cola debuted a similar campaign depicting peace at a time of protests against the Vietnam War. If you didn’t see it on Mad Men, I’ll include it here. In fact, let’s have a look at both commercials. 

 

 

I’d like to buy the world a … frame

Okay yes, Coca Cola had the good fortune to run this ad in a world without Twitter, I know. However, other coverage on the Pepsi ad has been quick to make the comparison, stating that Coca Cola succeeded where Pepsi failed. But – barring the effect of scathing tweets – why?

Weergang and van Loon both refer to framing effects, particularly how Pepsi’s ad suffered from negative frames constructed by the public. However, if media content includes the proper cultural resonance and narrative fidelity, the message should be interpreted as intended [1].  

The devil is in the details

Frankly, in a society rife with racism and police brutality against people of colour, the image of a privileged, white woman walking up to a police officer and handing him a Pepsi to resolve a conflict doesn’t exactly scream ‘truce’. Though, one might (rightly) say that Coca Cola’s utopic message isn’t narratively sound either. It all comes back to public perception. A recent study shows that how media content depicts a CSR-message determines the public’s evaluation of the company. A strategic depiction results in “stronger company hypocrisy and negative communication intentions towards the company;” a double-whammy for Pepsi [2].

Why would the public perceive Pepsi’s ad as a strategic CSR-message? Adding insult to injury, Pepsi positioned their product as the ‘treatment recommendation’ to the conflict [1], intentionally constructing a narrative that trivialises social activism efforts. Intent is important here, as it implies that this crisis could have been prevented. This incurs severe feelings of anger and blame, which go on to drive the public response [3]. In contrast, Coca Cola positioning their product as a “tiny commonality between all peoples” can be considered as much less problematic.

So, did Coca Cola know something then that we’d do well to remember now? And is there really any way of knowing how well received the ad would be in today’s socio-political climate? 🤷‍♀️ But then maybe that’s the point: keep cultural contexts in mind, all ways, always. 

* With special thanks to Taylor Swift.

                 

[1] Van Gorp, B. (2007). Bringing culture back in: The constructionist approach to framing. Journal of Communication, 57(1), 60-78.

[2] Shim, K., Chung, M., & Kim, Y. (2017). Does ethical orientation matter? Determinants of public reaction to CSR communication. Public Relations Review, 43(4), 817-828.

[3] Zhou, Z., & Ki, E. J. (2018). Does severity matter?: An investigation of crisis severity from defensive attribution theory perspective. Public Relations Review, 44(4), 610-618. 

                

Fairouz Kasri is a Persuasive Communication Master’s Student at the University of Amsterdam. She plays various roles in the management of projects at SWOCC, the Dutch Foundation for Fundamental Research on Brands and Brand Communication. She’s passionate about ABBA, politics, pop-culture, women’s rights, and youth leadership development.