A popular aerated drink released a new commercial on Tuesday (4th April) which was criticised and strongly condemned for mocking a nationwide protest movement. In the past, the drink manufacturer had released several controversial commercials that were based on current affairs, but this one with a theme of racism went completely wrong.
In the ad, Kendall Jenner features on a photo shoot. She happens to see a crowd marching toward the lane with people carrying placard like; "Peace", "Love" and "Join the conversation". While this happens on one side, on the other side there is an Islamic lady photographer who takes her camera and joins the crowd of protesters. It's then, Kendell Jenner who poses for the photoshoot removes her wig, wipes away her lipstick and joins the marchers. She then takes a can of the aerated drink and heads towards an army officer and offers him the can, the officer accepts the can and sips the drink. The ad not just mocks the anti-racist movement of United States of America but also gives the feel that, if white models led the black movement and offered the cold drink then everyone will get united.
This ad, however, went on to become headlines for all wrong reasons and also the aerated drink's official twitter account was unfollowed by many. Now the drink manufacturer released an official statement. It mentioned. "We are trying to project a global message of unity, peace, and understanding. Clearly, we missed the mark, and we apologize. We did not intend to make light of any serious issue. We are removing the content and halting any further rollout. We also apologize for putting Kendall Jenner in this position."
Will this statement and apology heal the sentiments of people? This is something that we need to wait and see.