That infamous Kendall Jenner Pepsi commercial is a rip off a 1999 Chemical Brothers video
The controversial video isn't even an original
Yesterday, mega soda corporation Pepsi placed itself at the forefront of Internet anger with its newest commercial campaign featuring model Kendall Jenner.
The tone-deaf video followed a cheesed out story of Jenner observing a protest going on during a photo shoot, grabbing a Pepsi and joining the efforts by smiling, walking around and handing a police officer a can of the fizzy beverage.
In the midst of a turbulent time for the Trump era of the United States where protests and major movements like Black Lives Matter have dominated headlines, many were understandably upset by the company's blatant commodification of protests and oblivious choice to use Kendall Jenner, a wealthy and white celebrity, in lieu of real life demonstrators.
But the controversy doesn't end there.
Writer Dorian Lynskey pointed out that the commercial strongly resembles The Chemical Brothers' 1999 video 'Out Of Control', where actress Rosario Dawson and counterpart Michael Brown stand off against a much more raw and gritty police force. The video takes a strange, but pointed and paralleling turn when Dawson cracks open a bottle of soda and proceeds to become the heroine of a soda commercial.
Below is Kendall's Pepsi commercial. It's hard to deny the similarities between the two after a back-to-back watch.
Pepsi has since retracted the commercial and issued an apology. "Pepsi was trying to convey a global message of unity, peace and understanding," the statement reads. "Clearly we missed the mark, and we apologize. We also apologize for putting Kendall Jenner in this position."