Pepsi Cola's Protest March Ad, White Privilege, & The Social Consciousness Connotation Of The Word "Woke"

Edited by Azizi Powell


This pancocojams post provides definitions of the terms "White privilege" and "woke" in their contemporary social consciousness contexts.

This post also provides information and commentary about Pepsi Cola's 2017 protest march ad that features Kendall Jenner and others.

A video of that ad is also included in this post.

Update: April 10, 2017: A video of spoof on this Pepsi Cola ad by "Saturday Night Live" is also featured in this post.

The content of this post is presented for historical and socio-cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publisher of this video on YouTube.

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WHAT "WHITE PRIVILEGE" MEANS
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_privilege
White privilege (or white skin privilege) is a term for societal privileges that benefit people identified as white in Western countries, beyond what is commonly experienced by non-white people under the same social, political, or economic circumstances. Academic perspectives such as critical race theory and whiteness studies use the concept of "white privilege" to analyze how racism and racialized societies affect the lives of white or white-skinned people.

According to Peggy McIntosh*, whites in Western societies enjoy advantages that non-whites do not experience, as "an invisible package of unearned assets".[1] White privilege denotes both obvious and less obvious passive advantages that white people may not recognize they have, which distinguishes it from overt bias or prejudice. These include cultural affirmations of one's own worth; presumed greater social status; and freedom to move, buy, work, play, and speak freely. The effects can be seen in professional, educational, and personal contexts. The concept of white privilege also implies the right to assume the universality of one's own experiences, marking others as different or exceptional while perceiving oneself as normal.[2][3]
-snip-
*Peggy McIntosh's name is given in that page as a hyperlink to her Wikipedia biography.

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WHAT "WOKE" MEANS IN THE CONTEXT OF SOCIAL CONSCIOUSNESS
According to https://storify.com/mojoIOL/woke-twitter, the contemporary African American Vernacular English meaning of the word "woke" is "being in a state of awareness: "Being Woke means being aware.. Knowing whats going on in the community" specifically relating to racism and social injustice....

Woke ... describ[es] someone who is enlightened and has a greater understanding of social injustices."
-snip-
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/02/the-black-consciousness-movement-spike.html
"The Black Consciousness Movement, Spike Lee's Movie "School Daze" & The Vernacular Word "Woke" for more information about this meaning of the word "work".
-snip-
I believe that comment #21 and comment #30 below include the word "woke" with this meaning.

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FEATURED VIDEO: FULL HD Pepsi Ad Commercial with Kendall Jenner



RollBizTV, Published on Apr 4, 2017

Watch the Full Pepsi Commercial starring Kylie Jenner.
-snip-
This is one of multiple YouTube videos of this ad. As of 10:42 AM {DST] this video had a total of
1,759,563 views with 5,889 thumbs up and 21,777 thumbs down.

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EXCERPT FROM ARTICLE AND COMMENTS ABOUT PEPSI COLA'S 2017 PROTEST MARCH AD
Pancocojams Editor's Note:
There are numerous online articles and YouTube videos about Pepsi Cola's 2017 protest march ad. I selected to focus on this particular article and a portion of its comment section because it was the last one that I read on that subject. As of the publication of this pancocojams post, that article's discussion section had 150 comments. I read a large portion of those comments and I believe that these selected comments are representative of the comments that I read that mentioned or focused on the term "White privilege" and/or that included the word "woke" in their social consciousness context.

These examples are given without any editorial comments from me, excerpt a note about adapted spelling of provanity. I've excluded any comment from this compilation that only refers to the quality or lack of quality of that ad., and/or only critiques Kendall Jenner and/or the Kardashian/Jenner family. I've also excluded comments that only critique Donald Trump, and/or refer to the quality or lack of quality of Pepsi Cola products or any other soft drink product.

All of these comments were posted in that article on April 5, 2016 and April 6, 2017 and are presented in relative chronological order with the earliest comments given first, except for replies.

These comments are numbered for referencing purposes only.

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ARTICLE EXCERPT
From http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/pepsi-ad-kendall-jenner_us_58e52783e4b0fe4ce08764d0?72y8b6sria149ggb9& Pepsi Pulls Kendall Jenner Ad Following Intense Backlash
“We are removing the content and halting any further rollout,” the company said.

By Maxwell Strachan, 04/05/2017 01:38 pm ET [in the Entertainment section]

"Pepsi apologized for its advertisement featuring Kendall Jenner at a political protest and pulled the video from YouTube on Wednesday following intense backlash over the way it portrayed demonstrators and police officers.

“Pepsi was trying to project a global message of unity, peace and understanding. Clearly we missed the mark, and we apologize,” the company said in a statement, per Wall Street Journal reporter Jennifer Maloney.

“We did not intend to make light of any serious issue,” the statement read. “We are removing the content and halting any further rollout.”

“We also apologize for putting Kendall Jenner in this position,” the company concluded.

The advertisement, which was uploaded to YouTube on Monday, had already been removed by the time this post was published.

[...]

The ad faced near-immediate criticism over its portrayal of police-protestors relations. In the ad, Jenner walks through a crowd to hand an officer a can of Pepsi, leading to raucous cheers from the crowd and a smile from the officer.

Roughly an hour before Pepsi announced that it had decided to pull the ad, Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., criticized the ad herself. “If only Daddy would have known about the power of #Pepsi,” she quipped.

[...]

You can still view the ad below." [in that Huffington Post article]

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SELECTED COMMENTS FROM THAT ARTICLE
1. Celso Garcia ·
DeWitt Clinton High School
"The problem with the ad is that Pepsi has done nothing to protest or speak out about the presidents actions. Their making protest and a sensitive topic seem trivial and not a big deal it's a elitist view of the world."

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2. Dom Herrera ·
Works at ProTrack Guides, LLC
"To those posting how you don't get it, how it's an overeaction, etc. The fact you don't understand is part of the problem, you lack empathy."

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3. Matt Caponi ·
Works at Freelance Filmmakers
"So if someone doesn't quite understand the issue it is because they lack empathy? That's all there is to it? A better approach might be to explain and educate, rather than to stigmatize. I think a lot of people do have empathy, but just don't fully understand the implications of this video."

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4. Crazyworld
"I'm an ultra-progressive person, and I look to find the goodness in everything. I don't see what terrible harm the message of this video is, can someone explain it to me? Gracias, merci."

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Reply
5.Fran Jaime ·
Works at Self-Employed
"Crazyworld Think about the brave black woman that confronted, without resisting, the cops rushing her. Now, think about how this ad minimizes protestors and the violence they face from the police. You're welcome."

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Reply
6.Anna Herbs ·
Copywriting, Journalism, Wordpress Design at Freelance Writer
"Here's a fair explanation: for context I'm a white chick who works in film and marketing, but what matters most is this explanation I'm providing here to give you guys who don't get it a fair opportunity to get on the right side of history on this one: The fist bump with the African American guy, the cut shot to the woman in the head scarf, a racially mixed crowd cheering over a can of Pepsi for Pete's sake. It's a cynical attempt to use the equality movement as if it were some kind of puppet or a marketing ploy, instead of it being THE most important trend within the human race right now. It tokenises ethnic minorities, turning the symbol of each race into something more like a mascot than a human being. All human beings being equal is the most profound struggle on this planet, but with this advert Pepsi has made a pretty outrageous attempt to use people's hopes and dreams to sell soda, instead of truly supporting the movement with something less outrageously dumb. It just shows zero understanding of what the equality movement actually needs, it shows a kind of outdated racist attitude in viewing people of all colours (including white females like Kendall Jenner) as symbols to play with rather than actual human beings. I hope that helped!!"

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9. Karen Bruce Holmes
California State University, Long Beach
"It would be hilarious if they had Kendall Jenner go from historic battle to historic battle, ending them with a can of Pepsi. Like having her end the Battle of Gettysburg with a can of Pepsi, stop Kent State shootings with a can of Pepsi, give a can of Pepsi to the Kamikaze pilots at Pearl Harbor. It could be her thing."

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Reply
10. Colette Rudis ·
University of Dayton, Dayton, Ohio
"Karen Bruce Holmes
Ummm... no"

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11. Michael Kushner ·
Cherry Hill High - East High School
"The problem with the ad is that it's slick, formulaic and insipid. The supposed protest looks like the kids of all the hollywood celebrities on their way to the Staples Center in LA for a concert. That is what's so tone deaf. Probably created by some rich, privileged millennials working for some ad agency that should be fired by Pepsi for wasting their marketing dollars. Empathy my ass! This ad is an insult to intelligence."

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Reply
12. Jackie Carroll
"I couldn't agree more! My first thought when seeing the ad was that it was over stylized crap. It looked like a protest held outside of the Ford Modeling Agency!"

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13. Barry Ellsworth ·
Contributor at Anadolu Agency
"I viewed the video. Are people really that cranky that they have to attack a Pepsi ad? There must be something better to do with their time."

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Reply
14. Michelle Shabazz Schultz ·
Crown Princess at Atlantis the Underwater Island
"I guess "people" are cranky. Considering those nice cops have been killing unarmed or legally armed black men like animals."

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Reply
15. Patricia Nolan Stein ·
Studio City, California
"I thought the commercial was fine. Not offensive at all. And the music was great. Yes, people are too cranky about this!"

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Reply
16. Stephanie Myer ·
Works at Boeing Defense, Space & Security
"If its not a problem for me, it's not a problem. #whiteprivelege. Trivializing the struggles of generations of black Americans that die in interactions with police where we white people wouldn't even be looked at twice is a problem. When a bunch of white folks with guns can occupy a govt building for days and have no repercussions yet black people peacefully marching unarmed end up in jail because they don't have a permit, it's a problem."

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Reply
17. Al Bond ·
Chief Operations Officer at Rolling Hill Park LLC.
"Patricia Nolan Stein white privilege gives you this narrow view."

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Reply
18. Leona Nicholas-Hodge
"Patricia Nolan Stein your lack of understanding of the issues with this can be explained. It is on one hand white privilege. This is not an insult it's how it is. To never have been oppressed because of the colour of your skin. To not be judged because of your religion. Police brutality in the USA is very real. The whole world can see it. On the other hand to not see that your very own country is policed in the most horrific and brutal way is because you are blinkered or ignorant to it. If you saw, addressed and accepted that the system needed changing, you would understand the anger behind trivialising a very real problem for economic gain."

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Reply
19. Jennifer Ryder Layne
"Patrica Nolan Stein - So a white woman gives a police officer a can of Pepsi and everything is alright is it? Tell that to the mothers and fathers of children shot by said police officers, tell that to the people beaten, tear gassed, pepper sprayed, shot at with rubber bullets on a peaceful march. This ad was insensitive on every level - especially in the current climate you have in the US. The fact you don't see that is a problem in itself 😔"

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Reply
20. Marcus Crawford ·
Arlington, Texas
"Chris Holtry I'm privileged white guy too abd have to disagree. It's important to point out that most of those who fail to see the problem with this are white people. It's points to privelege and a blindness among the white population. We have to recognize that. It's a problem."

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21. William Pickens ·
West Virginia State University
"This shows there's very little diversity of decision makers in the marketing and advertising at Pepsi and/or their ad agency. Someone Black or of another minority that is woke would have voiced the inappropriateness of this ad. While I'm sure there are quite a few minorities that follow the Kardashians, none would think Kendall speaks for the Black community. Reality is she would not be at the fore in that premise. Blacks don't need a white savior, that's a disservice to everyone that has stood for our race, now and in the past. Stand with us if you believe we all have the same rights or get out of our way."

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22. Jeff Cross ·
Harvard University
"You going to condemn Dove Chocolate for doing similar last year? https://youtu.be/3sFSelSVFlo?t=49s

If you're this freaked out over a simple cola ad, then you've got way too much free time."

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Reply
23. Marcus Crawford ·
Arlington, Texas
"Jeff Cross that's not start the dove commercial did. Your comparison of the two shows either didn't watch the two or lack understanding of what the Pepsi commercial showed."

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24. Anna Herbs ·
Copywriting, Journalism, Wordpress Design at Freelance Writer
"It's weird... here in Britain literally EVERYONE sees how wrong that advert is from the second she fist bumps that guy. We've got our own sh&t to deal with coughbrexitcough but young British people are on your side!!!!"
-snip-
This word is fully spelled out in this comment.

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25. Jamarmaru Fraser ·
Nehelenia's right hand man. at Dead Moon Circus
"Interesting how most of the people who seem oblivious as to how wrong this ad is seem to share a trait in common. I wonder what that trait could be."

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Reply
26. Tom Johnson ·
Works at Evernote
"Two traits....Old and white. younger white people seem to get it."

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Reply
27. Sandra Ann Garcia ·
Writer at MLR Press
"Tom Johnson Now now, there's a lot of old white hippies out there fighting the good fight."

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Reply
28.Chris Peters
"Tom Johnson The only thing millenials "get" is how to whine, cry, and protest anything that doesn't suit their delicate sensibilities!"

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Reply
29. Anna Herbs ·
Copywriting, Journalism, Wordpress Design at Freelance Writer
"😂 I get your point, but I would have said that trait is being OLD. I'm a young British white chick, my generation is on the side of equality for all humans!!!!!!!! This advert is WRONG, vive le resistance!!"

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Reply
30. Justine Davidson ·
Spokane, Washington
"Tom Johnson, is being ageist ok tho?"

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Reply
30. Tom Johnson ·
Works at Evernote
"Justine Davidson if you're old and woke you're cool with me!"

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Reply
31. Cyril Hinds ·
Westbury High School (Houston)
"Tom Johnson this is the 2nd comment of yours that refers negatively toward "old" people as being out of touch. I'm 66 and I get how this commercial sucks. It almost sucks about as much as your attitude toward "old" people."

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Reply
32. Lois Allen
"Tom Johnson oops, you're stereotyping."

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Reply
33. Robert Andrews ·
Kokomo, Indiana
"Tom Johnson Be careful, Tom, one day you're gonna be that old guy."

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Reply
34. George Bernard
"Tom Johnson why is it all about race with you? This ad is insulting as sh*t to all people who have had to protest for their rights: blacks, gays, religious minorities, women, Chinese people (remember Tienemen Square?), Ukrainians, antiwar activists, unionists, and the list goes on. You seem to have blinders on."

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Reply
35. Ruth Black
"George Bernard The ad specifically mimicked an act that took place during the initial Black Lives Matter protest when a young black woman stood face to face to white male police officers in riot gear who promptly handcuffed and arrested her. So do you see how that race thing plays in there."

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36. John Beske
Works at Vegan Street
"For me, the problem of the ad has nothing to do with Kendall Jenner. I know very little about her and didn't know that was her in the video when I first saw it. My problems were that they carelessly appropriated the idea of protest, which is for many people is one of the few ways they can get their voices heard and they turned it into a fashion show of gorgeous twenty-somethings wandering to Coachella who don't seem to be standing for anything other than their belief that the rest of the world isn't drinking enough Pepsi, the idea that a good-looking white woman handing a soft drink to a cop during what is essentially a big street party is this huge statement about diversity and freedom worthy of climactic applause, and the hamfisted way they injected their product into everything that made any other messages disappear. I also feel bad because I like the song which will now be forever tainted with its association to this ridiculous mess."

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37. Bryan Caver
"So Pepsi thinks that a black American, who can be shot and killed for having a broken tail light (looking at you former LEO Michael Slager), can grab a can of Pepsi and give it a police officer without being shot and killed. I think their ad was the perfect ad for their rival Coca-Cola because it was so tone deaf and trivializes the need to protest violations to the 1st, 4th and 14th Amendments to our constitution.

As Bernice said, if only her dad had known about the power of Pepsi. Perhaps he, Megar Evers, John Lewis, Thurgood Marshall, Asa Philip Randolph and Frederick Douglass could have changed history by giving policemen a Pepsi and a smile, huh? The Riots in Ferguson, Missouri, Baltimore, Maryland and Milwaukee, Wisconsin highlighted that police routinely violate our constitutional rights. But sure, let's trivialize the trampling of let's trivialize the trampling of citizen's rights because (fill in stupid answer here)."

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38. Sally LaPlante Mellor ·
Works at Retired
"Hmmmm, lots of things offend me in this world...but this ad? No. How can we respond negatively to a positive coming together message? Maybe we had better tone down the anger and hatred...use it for the important things. This isn't one of them!"

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Reply
39. Lisa Weber Bender ·
The University of Akron
"Just because YOU think the message was positive does not make it so. Do you live in fear of unjustified brutality and oppression?"

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Reply
40. Tom Johnson ·
Works at Evernote
"Only a conservative white person lacking fundamental empathy would trivalize the feelings of others on such a serious issue. Congrats hon."

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Reply
41. Lisa Weber Bender ·
The University of Akron
"What Tom Johnson said."

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Reply
42. Patrick Coll
"Tom Johnson Why do you always trivalize the feelings of white people? So if you're white, you don't have a right to have an opinion on this ad?"

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43. Hank Hill
"Is anyone really surprised social justice warriors get offended about a commercial about social justice warriors?"

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Reply
44. Tom Johnson ·
Works at Evernote
"Please remind me when Pepsi and Kendall Kardashian Jenner were EVER involved with social justice...........oh, NEVER you say? THAT is why people take offense."

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Reply
44. Trina Roach
"Let me fix your question for you: Is anyone really surprised that people who put their safety, livelihoods and/or lives on the line for social justice are offended that their struggles are trivialized and commercialized in a vapid attempt to sell high fructose corn syrup???"

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45. Trina Roach
"Replace Ms. Jenner with any ransom white woman and this ad would be just as egregious. The trivialization of pressing social justice issues was flagrant.

What's the difference between protests in places like Ferguson and Baltimore compared to the Women's March in January? The police show up as though they're at war. Who's dressed/equipped for a fight right from the onset? But let a group of mostly white, mostly older women wearing cute pink hats take to the streets..... It's all high-5's and selfies.

What's Pepsi' s answer to social injustice and inequality? An ad dripping with stereotypical "multicultural" images against the backdrop of their branding. Lukewarm "protest" signage and friendly cops who can easily be assuage by a cool can of high fructose corn syrup.

Wow! What a shame Trayvon Martin didn't buy a can of Pepsi instead of his tea... So sorry Sandra Bland didn't have a can when she was arrested for being "belligerent".

Need I go on?"

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46. Stephen Mullins ·
Richmond, British Columbia
"I hear Pepsi revised the ad, now the script says:

Protester opens a can of Pepsi, but cop refuses it and opens a can of whoop ass instead."

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47. Patricia Murphy
"Did Pepsi even test this commercial in front of a diverse focus group before approving it? I'm going to go with no. And if they did, somebody should be out of a job. Police brutality is a present serious issue with some communities and a life and death issue in other communities. A Pepsi ad with a popular star is not the answer right now."

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48. Pamela Pollard ·
Manassas, Virginia
"Jay Fund you dont ask for white privilege it is given to you and the reality is.. the REAL reality. Two poor people one black one white walking at 3 am looking for help the odds are the white guy would get help first.
He didnt ask to get help first. It was just given to him. You cant really cash it in."

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49. William Pickens ·
West Virginia State University
"This shows there's very little diversity of decision makers in the marketing and advertising at Pepsi and/or their ad agency. Someone Black or of another minority that is woke would have voiced the inappropriateness of this ad. While I'm sure there are quite a few minorities that follow the Kardashians, none would think Kendall speaks for the Black community. Reality is she would not be at the fore in that premise. Blacks don't need a white savior, that's a disservice to everyone that has stood for our race, now and in the past. Stand with us if you believe we all have the same rights or get out of our way."

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50. Scott Satellite
Its sad that people have so much energy to be outraged about a Pepsi commercial, yet can't step away from their keyboards long enough to go vote or take action in the real world.

Newsflash: There are about a million other things happening in the world this very minute have far more dire conseqences than the content of a Pepsi ad."

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Reply
51. Brianna Amore ·
Solo Entrepeneur at Amoré Design Werks
"Oh really? Is there an election today that I'm not aware of? It is possible for people to walk and chew gum at the same time, you know."

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Reply
52. Brian Symons
"And yet here you are getting outraged at other people being upset about a Pepsi ad. Have YOU done anything about those "million other things happening in the world"?"

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53. Sally LaPlante Mellor ·
Works at Retired
"Hmmmm, lots of things offend me in this world...but this ad? No. How can we respond negatively to a positive coming together message? Maybe we had better tone down the anger and hatred...use it for the important things. This isn't one of them!"

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Reply
54. Lisa Weber Bender ·
The University of Akron
"Just because YOU think the message was positive does not make it so. Do you live in fear of unjustified brutality and oppression?"

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55. Jennifer LePore ·
Chino Hills, California
"So much wrong with this huge miscalculation from Pepsi. First and most obviously it's insulting to imply a celebrity and a beverage can instantly seal a chasm that's been forming for decades, is deeply complicated and involves issues of race, class, sex and all kinds of dynamics. Second, do we have to commodify every damn thing? Any time there's a significant moment in this nation some company is right there ready to capitalize on it. Merchandizing the snot out of everything timely just cheapens the message. Not every significant occurrence has to be made into a movie, a toy or something that can be packaged and purchased! Geez! Hopefully someone gets fired."

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56. Rod McCullough ·
Berlin, Germany
"Commercializing struggle is nothing new. The problem is that where it used to be a by-product of recognizing change in a culture and reflecting that in advertising and, thereby, profiting from "identifying" with the consumers, it has now become "monetizing culture by co-opting struggle". I mean, "Coke is Harmony" is a belated call to civil rights and what would become the idea of "multiculturalism". It was definitively the late 60's/70's; it was an unapologetic reference to 'loving' everyone regardless.
The fact that the advertising industry seeks out more revenue by using others' strive shouldn't make anyone catch the vapors. But, if you see it, call it out and, eventually, these companies get the hint. Overt bigotry or bias won't sell with today's consumer."

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UPDATE: Pepsi Commercial - SNL



Saturday Night Live Published on Apr 9, 2017

The writer-director (Beck Bennett) of Kendall Jenner's (Cecily Strong) Pepsi commercial shares his concept with friends ahead of the shoot.
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Click http://www.rollingstone.com/tv/news/watch-snl-spoof-kendall-jenners-tone-deaf-pepsi-ad-w475867 for an article about this spoof of Pepsi Cola's Kendall Jenner/Protest March ad by the American television series "Saturday Night Live".

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