Kendall Jenner's new advert for Pepsi has been criticised for undermining protest movements such as Black Lives Matter.
In the ad, the second-youngest member of the Kardashian clan is seen leaving a photoshoot to join protesters on a march.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
However, the campaign has been interpreted as an attempt to capitalise on the imagery of contemporary protests in the US, BBC Newsbeat reports.
For many critics, it paints a "privileged, white, famous young model" as a peacemaker between civil rights activists and police using "a drink sold by a massive conglomerate", says The Independent.
In particular, supporters of protest movements highlighted how the advert glosses over issues such as police brutality.
One tongue-in-cheek tweet showed Martin Luther King Jr being arrested at a civil rights protest in the 1960s, speculating that he "forgot his Pepsi".
TV reporter Ronan Farrow mocked the "generic" nature of the protest portrayed in the ad.
Others offered satirical suggestions for future advertisements.
Pepsi said the advert "reflects people from different walks of life coming together in a spirit of harmony".
It added: "We think that's an important message to convey."
-
Metal-based compounds may be the future of antibioticsUnder the radar Robots can help develop them
-
Europe’s apples are peppered with toxic pesticidesUnder the Radar Campaign groups say existing EU regulations don’t account for risk of ‘cocktail effect’
-
Political cartoons for February 1Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include Tom Homan's offer, the Fox News filter, and more
-
Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
-
China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
-
How Bulgaria’s government fell amid mass protestsThe Explainer The country’s prime minister resigned as part of the fallout
-
Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal
