#consumer-backlash

#consumer-backlash

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.

It seems like lately, there's a new - and confounding - political melee surrounding a company branding decision every other week. One company sniffles, and someone declares it woke. Another coughs, and it's white supremacist. Just look at what happened with American Eagle and Cracker Barrel over the summer. Or a couple of years ago, when the green M&M got sneakers. The near-constant meltdowns over simple business moves are a sign of the times, though. Americans are seeing everything as politically coded, even when it's not.

Recently, consumers of cosmetics brand E.L.F. Cosmetics were upset because the brand posted an ad featuring comedian Matt Rife. In his Netflix special a few years ago, Rife made a joke about domestic violence that many women found distasteful. For consumers, seeing Rife in an ad with a brand they love and use - and one that is often touted for its commitment to inclusion felt like it was a betrayal of their brand values.

This is perhaps the cringiest thing the company has ever done,