"Pepsi's 2017 commercial starring Kendall Jenner attempted to link soda with unity and protest movements. The ad showed Jenner leaving a photo shoot to join a demonstration, ultimately handing a Pepsi to a police officer in a moment of supposed reconciliation. Critics immediately accused the brand of trivializing Black Lives Matter and real social justice movements, appropriating protest imagery for profit."
"Coca-Cola's 1985 decision to reformulate its 99-year-old recipe ranks among corporate America's most tone-deaf moves. Believing a sweeter taste would help compete with Pepsi, executives launched "New Coke" with fanfare, only to face immediate public outcry. Angry customers stockpiled the original formula, protest hotlines jammed with complaints, and sales plummeted. Within 79 days, Coca-Cola retreated completely, bringing back the original formula as "Coca-Cola Classic.""
Corporate attempts to court cultural relevance can trigger intense backlash when campaigns misread public sentiment or appropriate serious movements. A 2017 soda commercial linking a brand to protest imagery prompted accusations of trivializing Black Lives Matter and led to an immediate pull and notable declines in purchase intent. In 1985, a reformulation of a century-old cola recipe produced consumer outrage, stockpiling of the original formula, and a rapid reversal to the original product. These episodes illustrate that ignoring cultural nuance, underestimating loyalty, and overpromising can rapidly erode reputation in a hyper-connected marketplace.
Read at Gadget Review
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