PepsiCo has canned its ad campaign staring Kendall Jenner and has issued an apology after it was declared 'tone-deaf' and copped a caning on social media.
The ad, which was accompanied by the song Lions by Skip Marley, featured protesters, a stand-off with police, Jenner, and a can of Pepsi.
The idea behind the film, which was to aired globally across TV and digital, was to capture “the spirit and actions of those people that jump in to every moment," according to PepsiCo.
One of the more serious criticisms was that the clip borrowed imagery from the Black Lives Matter movement, which critics said trivialised the widespread protests against the killings of black people by the police.
The company has since apologised over the way it portrayed demonstrators and police officers in the ad.
"Pepsi was trying to project a global message of unity, peace and understanding. Clearly we missed the mark, and we apologise," PepsiCo said in a statement.
"We did not intend to make light of any serious issue. We are removing the content and halting any further rollout. We also apologise for putting Kendall Jenner in this position."
PepsiCo Australia had no involvement in the campaign, which was produced by PepsiCo's in-house content creation arm, Creators League Studio in the US.
