Assignment 5.1: PR Fail by https://padlet.com/ajlahuric01/5m3b17pubx0owsvy Pepsi's PR Fail en-us 2020-09-25 16:37:26 UTC 2024-11-22 15:47:44 UTC hello@padlet.com ajlahuric01 https://padlet.com/ajlahuric01/5m3b17pubx0owsvy/wish/779970078 Pepsi released an advertisement for their "Live For Now- Moments" Campaign in 2017. The specific ad in question was the “’Jump In’- Pepsi Moments” ad starring Kendall Jenner. Pepsi said the advertisement was meant “to project a global message of unity, peace, and understanding.” The ad received much backlash for its tone-deaf approach to the issue (Tillman).  ]]> 2020-09-25 16:43:50 UTC https://padlet.com/ajlahuric01/5m3b17pubx0owsvy/wish/779970078 ajlahuric01 https://padlet.com/ajlahuric01/5m3b17pubx0owsvy/wish/780566344 "This ad trivializes the urgency of the issues and it diminishes the seriousness and the gravity of why we got into the street in the first place," activist DeRay McKesson told NBC News correspondent Gabe Gutierrez (Smith). ]]> 2020-09-25 19:27:29 UTC https://padlet.com/ajlahuric01/5m3b17pubx0owsvy/wish/780566344 ajlahuric01 https://padlet.com/ajlahuric01/5m3b17pubx0owsvy/wish/780571584 Martin Luther King Junior’s daughter, Bernice King, posted an image of MLK during a protest being pushed back by a line of policemen. Along with the photo, she tweeted: "If only Daddy would have known about the power of #Pepsi" (Smith). ]]> 2020-09-25 19:29:23 UTC https://padlet.com/ajlahuric01/5m3b17pubx0owsvy/wish/780571584 ajlahuric01 https://padlet.com/ajlahuric01/5m3b17pubx0owsvy/wish/780577544 Pepsi responded to the backlash with this statement, “"Pepsi was 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" (Smith). ]]> 2020-09-25 19:31:41 UTC https://padlet.com/ajlahuric01/5m3b17pubx0owsvy/wish/780577544 ajlahuric01 https://padlet.com/ajlahuric01/5m3b17pubx0owsvy/wish/780578303 After the ad surfaced, Pepsi’s perception level decreased immensely (Marzilli). They saw the lowest sales from May to July of 2017 which was the lowest their sales had been in the last eight years (Marzilli). While Pepsi has made a recovery in their perception, they now have the lowest level of consideration among millennials to buy their drink according to YouGov BrandIndex (Marzilli).  ]]> 2020-09-25 19:31:59 UTC https://padlet.com/ajlahuric01/5m3b17pubx0owsvy/wish/780578303 ajlahuric01 https://padlet.com/ajlahuric01/5m3b17pubx0owsvy/wish/780582589 Marketing Week stated: 
“Pepsi®’s ad failure shows the importance of diversity and market research: The backlash over the Kendall Jenner ad shows marketers need an outside perspective, whether from an ad agency or by conducting thorough market research and reaching out to consumers” (Hobbs).
]]> 2020-09-25 19:33:44 UTC https://padlet.com/ajlahuric01/5m3b17pubx0owsvy/wish/780582589 ajlahuric01 https://padlet.com/ajlahuric01/5m3b17pubx0owsvy/wish/780588443 I think if Pepsi was going to do a commercial about a protest, they should have based it on the Black Lives Matter movement. I see how they tried to do that in a sense, but the posters they used during the ad said things like "Join the Conversation." They made it seem like it wasn't that serious of a topic. The whole video felt light-hearted and like people were having fun. The video made it seem like a Pepsi would solve the issue at hand. It didn't show the raw emotion that goes into protesting and the way in which people have to fight for what they believe in. ]]> 2020-09-25 19:36:02 UTC https://padlet.com/ajlahuric01/5m3b17pubx0owsvy/wish/780588443 ajlahuric01 https://padlet.com/ajlahuric01/5m3b17pubx0owsvy/wish/780610663 I think their use of Kendall Jenner didn't help. I feel like they only used her because she is popular and would have brought them more free publicity. People don't see her being actively involved in protests, so they probably felt enraged with the fact that they didn't use someone who actually represents the movement. ]]> 2020-09-25 19:44:45 UTC https://padlet.com/ajlahuric01/5m3b17pubx0owsvy/wish/780610663 ajlahuric01 https://padlet.com/ajlahuric01/5m3b17pubx0owsvy/wish/780618753 Their video was unrealistic in the way that Kendall Jenner was able to give the police officer a Pepsi and he accepted it. From the videos we see online, some protests aren't that peaceful. If someone were to do that in real life, I think the outcome of that situation would be entirely different, especially if the person was Black. ]]> 2020-09-25 19:48:10 UTC https://padlet.com/ajlahuric01/5m3b17pubx0owsvy/wish/780618753 ajlahuric01 https://padlet.com/ajlahuric01/5m3b17pubx0owsvy/wish/780631563 2020-09-25 19:53:31 UTC https://padlet.com/ajlahuric01/5m3b17pubx0owsvy/wish/780631563 ajlahuric01 https://padlet.com/ajlahuric01/5m3b17pubx0owsvy/wish/780637778 Since public relations needs to pay careful attention to the needs of its clients (Campbell et al. 960), I would listen to their feedback first. I would have taken down the commercial because of the backlash received from the public.]]> 2020-09-25 19:55:56 UTC https://padlet.com/ajlahuric01/5m3b17pubx0owsvy/wish/780637778 ajlahuric01 https://padlet.com/ajlahuric01/5m3b17pubx0owsvy/wish/780659887 Obviously, an apology would need to be issued on all platforms. I feel like Pepsi's apology wasn't as sincere. They said "clearly we missed the mark, and we apologize." (Smith). It seems like their apology was generic and not really heart felt, it's like they are only apologizing to fix their image. I would have issued a more  heart felt apology and would have said something like "we sincerely apologize." Along with this, I would have explained what we did wrong and how we would fix our mindset for future advertising. I think it's also important that you inform the public that you will learn from your previous mistakes. Honesty is an important part of PR (Campbell et al. 985), which is why I would want to be transparent with the public.]]> 2020-09-25 20:05:44 UTC https://padlet.com/ajlahuric01/5m3b17pubx0owsvy/wish/780659887 ajlahuric01 https://padlet.com/ajlahuric01/5m3b17pubx0owsvy/wish/780687169 2020-09-25 20:18:38 UTC https://padlet.com/ajlahuric01/5m3b17pubx0owsvy/wish/780687169 ajlahuric01 https://padlet.com/ajlahuric01/5m3b17pubx0owsvy/wish/780691332 You can't make it seem like what you're doing is just to fix your image and do damage control. I think in trying to be more sincere, I would show ways that Pepsi is impacting the Black Lives Matter movement. You need to show that you continually support the movement and not just during the time the mistake was made. I would have shared links on Pepsi's social media platforms of ways others can help the movement. I also would have helped the movement by donating money to it. I think it's important not to flood people with all of this information right away because they may view it as insincere after the mistake made.]]> 2020-09-25 20:20:05 UTC https://padlet.com/ajlahuric01/5m3b17pubx0owsvy/wish/780691332 ajlahuric01 https://padlet.com/ajlahuric01/5m3b17pubx0owsvy/wish/780734876 I would also make sure the public knows that Pepsi is doing their best to stop the same situation from happening again. Some people thought that Pepsi produced the commercial too quickly and they needed an external perspective for the ad (Hobbs). To make sure the same thing doesn't happen again, Pepsi would need to spend the necessary amount of time to make their commercials. No matter the price, Pepsi needs to make sure their content won't produce the same mistakes. ]]> 2020-09-25 20:42:45 UTC https://padlet.com/ajlahuric01/5m3b17pubx0owsvy/wish/780734876 ajlahuric01 https://padlet.com/ajlahuric01/5m3b17pubx0owsvy/wish/780763790 Campbell, Richard, Christopher R. Martin, and Bettina Fabos. Media & Culture: Mass  
Communication in a Digital Age. 11th edition, Bedford/St. Martin's, 2017. 

Hobbs, Thomas. Pepsi’s ad failure
shows the importance of diversity and market research. Marketing Weekly. 17 April 2017, https://www.marketingweek.com/pepsi-scandal-prove-lack-diversity-house-work-flawed/. Accessed 25 September 2020. 

Marzilli, Ted. One year after Jenner ad crisis, Pepsi recovers but purchase consideration hasn't. YouGov. 17 April 2018, https://today.yougov.com/topics/food/articles-reports/2018/04/17/one-year-after-jenner-ad-crisis-pepsi-recovers. Accessed 25 September 2020. 
 
Smith, Alexander. Pepsi Pulls Controversial Kendall Jenner Ad After Outcry. NBC News. 5 April 2017, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/pepsi-ad-kendall-jenner-echoes-black-lives-matter-sparks-anger-n742811. Accessed 25 September 2020. 
 
Tillman, Lily. case study: pepsico & kendall jenner’s controversial commercial. Astute. https://astute.co/pepsi-kendall-jenner-commercial/. Accessed 25 September 2020.  
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