Marketing In The News (Week 1)

I decided to write about the latest Pepsi ad that everyones talking about that was such an utter failure. In fact, the ad was such a failure that Pepsi withdrew the commercial from both Youtube and television. Pepsi released two versions of the Ad. The first was a full length 2 minute and 40 second version that was posted on youtube, and the second was a shortened T.V. version. The original video on youtube, posted by the Pepsi Youtube channel had an overpowering dislike ratio and thousands of upset people commenting. The people who watched it on T.V. had a similar reaction. Pepsi tried to appeal to the younger crowd but ended up just pissing them off, along with everyone else.
 I found an article on Ad Age that explains exactly why the ad was such a failure. In summary, the article addresses that we live in a very sensitive time when it comes to social justice issues. That being said, if companies are going to try to hop on to the trend of modern social justice, they have to tread lightly. Featuring a respected celebrity like Kendall Jenner in the commercial wasn't quite enough. This topic requires more thought than that.
 The main point of this article that applies to marketing is that if you are going to use such a sensitive topic to market your company, make sure you do it right. The marketers at Pepsi did not have a developed enough perspective to make a commercial about social justice. Liberals were offended because they feel that the fight for social justice, peace, and equal rights is very serious. The commercial portrayed their protests as a fun gathering where everyone is happy. It basically stated that these problems can be solved with a simple Pepsi can.
 That being said, I can see why Pepsi tried to do a commercial like this. Pepsi's Value Proposition is appealing to the youth and the millennials. They wanted to state in this commercial that Pepsi is a drink for young people with new ideas. However, they went about it very wrong.
 What I learned from this Ad and article is that using topics that people are so passionate about to market your company is not the safest idea. Pepsi did not have enough knowledge about social justice when making this commercial, and they paid the price for it.