Creatives show Pepsi how to make a protest ad using powerful Standing Rock footage
Pepsi has had a bad week on the back of the launch of a universally despised ad that "missed the mark" - it's just gotten worse - a group of creatives have remade the ad with emotional footage that does connect with viewers.
One of the main criticisms leveraged towards Pepsi’s cataclysmic and immediately pulled Kendall Jenner ad is that, despite all its talk of protest and unity, it never actually stood for anything other than soda sales in an attempt to hold a mirror to a desired target audience.
Now a team of creatives at ThirtyRev, a group that “creates films that contribute towards making the world a safe, just and sustainable place,” have released an actual protest ad using using the Skip Marley soundtrack Lions.
Using footage from a year-long Standing Rock standoff in the Indian Reservation, the group reflects the struggles of Dakota natives’, and those who came to their aid. Documented are the bold attempt to obstruct a pipeline through the region that would disrupt spiritual sites and pertain a risk to local water supplies.
‘Fixed Pepsi Ad’ shows real police brutality – underlining how naive Pepsi's work was in assuming that the incongruous gifting of a chilled can of soda would solve real issues.
The strapline ‘Water Is Life,’ juxtaposes the Pepsi logo. Watch the ad the work is spoofing (or one-upping) here. Or check out the SNL parody of the ad here.
Although brands and creatives are still taking digs at the in-house created campaign, the news cycle has moved on much to the relief of PepsiCo execs.
Just days after the ad catalyzed brand mentions on social media (in the worst possible way) United Airlines stepped in and was filmed being complicit in the beating and humiliation of a passenger.
This travesty is the latest PR disaster and has likely given Pepsi some respite.