What exactly is going on in this new Pepsi ad starring Kendall Jenner and a bunch of probably-voted-for-Trump cops? The new ad, which Pepsi is apparently calling the "Live for Now Moments Anthem," shows a poorly disguised Jenner observing what appears to be a protest. As Skip Marley's "Lions" plays, Jenner is inspired to ditch her disguise and join the demonstration.
And then this happens:
🤔 Seriously, imagine the pitch meeting:
Rich Soda Dude 1: "Okay, so, we need a bunch of cardboard signs with the peace symbol very intricately drawn on them."
Spoiler alert: The cop sips the soda.
As Elle and others have noted, there's a whole lot of co-opting going on here. Hilariously enough, Trump supporters spent a portion of 2016 threatening to boycott the sugary drink over something PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi never even said. Despite multiple articles claiming otherwise, Nooyi never actually told Trumpees to "take their business elsewhere." Still, as CNN reported in December, the post-election boycott threats briefly persisted. Those motherfuckers will probably be stoked to see a cop sipping a Pepsi mid-protest, though! Just don't ask POTUS to hold a Pepsi of his own:
Later in December, Nooyi joined Uber CEO Travis Kalanick and Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk on Trump's business council. Fast forward a few months, and here we are watching a Kardashian hand out sodas to cops.
Don't trust capitalism. Trust Britney instead.
