I have been trying to wrap my head around the supreme awfulness of the Pepsi protest ad, which was—to be brief—corporate America’s idea of what it means to Stick it to the Man. For those of you just emerging from a deep cavern somewhere, the ad is somewhere below. Don’t blame me. I am just the messenger. Don’t shoot the messenger.
The ad has drawn fire from every quarter—left, right and center, and so the reasons for the gag reflex vary. Pepsi pulled the ad and apologized. Of course they did. To be expected. But let me try to explain why I think it was such an atrocity. I would sum it up by pointing out that all the feminists in the ad were good looking.
Now before you react and say that this is just an outrage clickbait stunt (on my part), there is far more to it than that. The point, deep and substantive, is far larger. It is the same problem as when you have a punk rocker, as ratty and raggedy as all get out, everything disheveled, except for the perfection of the orthodontic work. I mean, we are talking about teeth that were laid out with a surveyor’s line, and they have that little star sparkle that some toothpaste commercials still use. In actual protests, we have landfill worthy amounts of garbage, and renegade protesters defecating on cop cars, not sexy models flashing gang signs. This ad was about as revolutionary as The Brady Bunch.
In other words, corporate America has a tin ear for what passes for authenticity these days. But we have three layers here. We have actual authenticity, rarely observed anywhere by anybody, we have the faux authenticity of actual squalor accidentally on purpose, and then we have the faux faux authenticity of reality star models tearing off their wigs to strut their stuff down to the riot police line, at which point they give a sample of The Product® to a cop who is just as good-looking as that intense cellist (yea, verily, yea), and who might be just as good in bed, no telling yet.
So the revolution is phony, largely made up of a bunch of angsty white kids whose parents are ad execs. But the signals have been agreed upon across our culture, and so everybody involved gets a pass. We all have agreed to not notice that our agitprop stunts are all commodified for the cameras, and so everybody knows how to make this Rousseau Farce look more or less realistic. Everybody except for Pepsi, that is.
We have hair product to make it look like you haven’t washed your hair in days. Twenty dollars a tube, and everybody should have gotten the memo. And then Pepsi (Pepsi!) makes an ad that wants to make a carbonated soft drink an emblem of the revolution. I mean Ben & Jerry’s was pushing it (ice cream?). The way to monetize this thing would have been with Che! T-shirts. Everybody would have stayed in their seats for that at any rate.
My first thought was where was she when Ferguson was happening?
And my second thought was this protest is the secular version of a BibleZine. (Be sure you have an empty bucket nearby if you decide to google that)
‘Cmon Doug. Do you even remember your post from yesterday?
The ad was a repetitious “worship” song, offered to a false idol.
Hence the lack of meat, or any actual good.
Duh?????
Isn’t this add a monument to “father hunger” in about a zillion ways? ????
Indeed. “We are the lions, we are the chosen.”
Not you other people who disagree. Yikies… can it be any plainer?
http://nasb.literalword.com/?q=%22young+lions%22
“We are the people we’ve been waiting for!” B. O.
????
Now let’s get to what this commercial really says; “Have a Coke and a smile.” Or a Bell’s. It is amazing that the second rate soda company has done so much to ensure my love for Coca-Cola by hiring Michael J. Fox, some tart from around Detroit, Michael Jackson, and now….whatshername.
Mmmmm……Coca-Cola. And Hopslam. But not mixed.
News flash:
“Store brand” drink sales surge inexplicably! ????
But whatever you do, don’t mention the name of that second rate soft drink company! Have a Coke instead! Yum, Coca-Cola!
Coca-Cola has done realms of disgusting things to advance its own popularity. But I digress.
I think we’re pretty much left with water, milk from cows you know, and juice from your own trees.
This sounds like a great alternative if you’re of the proper age (though I haven’t tried it):
https://www.conservativereview.com/commentary/2016/08/one-libertarian-brewer-is-proving-that-beer-is-still-freedom
Yes! I should not have omitted the beers.
You must love Coke’s sponsorships with the BET, American Idol, Jennifer Lopez, Christina Aguilera, 50 Cent, Missy Elliott, and “Bruce” Jenner.
And of course this commercial:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUGDQo2Pb6g
OK, you’re right. Bell’s it is. Better for my blood sugar anyways. :^)
What this ad almost demonstrates is that The Resistance® has already been a prop for the rich entertainment set to finally throw off the shackles of conventional, Biblical morality, as Chesterton himself sae happening a century ago. Pepsi merely lifted the curtain in a too, too obvious fashion.
Explain.
And don’t miss the in-your-face-pandering message of the head-scarfed “photo-journalist,” either. A disgusting display of faux virtue-signaling. Since I hate Pepsi, I won’t have to bother boycotting it, but aren’t you all getting sick and tired of absolutely everything being politicized for the Leftist, i.e., multi-culti agenda? I SURE AM.
I saw it almost the opposite of you here. The “multi-culti” agenda was being hijacked for corporate profit. I’m quite certain that Pepsi cares nothing about that agenda compared to how it cares for soda sales.
Good point and I agree!
All I could think of at the end was “drinking the Kool-Aid.”
Yes, if all those evil “the man” types would just drink a Pepsi we could all live in harmony, a brotherhood of man with no hell below us and above us only sky.
“We are the mooooovement, the generation…”
Cap’n, it is beginning to scare me how much we seem to think alike. Well, at least you saved me the time writing an insightful and witty comment about the cop finally drinking the Kool-Aid!
In any case, the original Kool-Aid knew how to put together a great commercial!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBeUGqeYsQg
Maybe Pepsi is just attempting to profit from our society’s desire to be outraged.
I think they want us to save our pancreases by drinking Coca-Cola, which has less sugar. Have a Coke and a smile!
Or Bell’s, possibly.
From Gil Scott-Heron’s “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”:
The revolution will not go better with Coke.
The revolution will not fight the germs that may cause bad breath.
So even in the 70’s, Pepsi was the Chosen Product of the Revolution.
I’m confused.
Hasn’t Coca-Cola been virtue-signal-marketing itself for years through pretending Coke is about happiness and social justice and whatever?
Perhaps this is just a case of “The one who did it badly making the rest of us looking bad.” Pepsi is to the rest of the corporate “social justice as marketing strategy” shills as Miley Cyrus is to the rest of the pop music scene..?
Old term:
“Virtue signaling”
New term:
“Virtue slithering”
????
If Hillary Clinton were a soft drink, she’d be a Diet Pepsi.
Some people might think she would be a Monster.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhh! I have been Trumped!
No, more that awful grapefruit soda — can’t think of the name… ;)
Well, I LOLed. But seriously, did nobody involved in this major production think that maybe this commercial was a bad idea, and better scrap it before it’s released to the world? They could have showed a two-minute loop of a bobble-head version of the president, and it would have been more profound.
I was thinking that too – an incredible amount of money and talent went into something that you would think any objective person could see was a horrific waste of time.
I think that’s just hindsight bias. Truth is, advertising is a total crapshoot and no one knows what is going to work or not beforehand.
“Hindsight is 20/20”, but advertising is not a total crapshoot. Any company with that kind of cash to throw at an advertising campaign has practically hired Big Brother in the research and development department. The fact that nobody with any clout spoke up about their misgivings or ever had them in the first place is a prime example of a lack of cognitive thinking.
That was painful. But at least it made me think of one of my favorite songs from my college days, with a Pepsi reference no less– kind of lengthy lyrics but fun anyway. Well your CD collection looks shiny and costly. How much did you pay for your bad Moto Guzzi? And how much did you spend on your black leather jacket? Is it you or your parents in this income tax bracket? ….Ah, tell me. How much did you pay for the chunk of his guitar, The one he ruthlessly smashed at the end of the show? And how… Read more »
When I recall my college days back in the late sixties, we despised multi-national corporations as the enemy. Coke and Pepsi were seen as especially egregious for exporting expensive, unhealthy soft drinks to the third world. No village so poor that a Coke or Pepsi truck didn’t come through every few weeks. I am wondering when young people began to see giant corporations as allies–because a lot of them do. My political views have grown a lot more moderate since the sixties, but I remember Abbie Hoffman once saying that if corporate America ever succeeded in separating the youth movement’s… Read more »
Well Jilly, I was born in 1960. (And but for that, the 60’s were over rated!????)
But anyway, let’s blame Steve Jobs for the shift you speak of!
(As I tap away on my iPhone. ????)
Just a young ‘un, you are. I loved the late sixties (as opposed to being in my late sixties). I will never be so serious again as I was back then. So sure of my beliefs, so certain that love would rule the stars, so convinced that there was nothing unethical about taking my conservative father’s tuition checks and cutting classes to go protest all that he held dear. And I will always remember the first time his words came tumbling out of my mouth when my daughter proposed some expensive social program: “And who do you think is going… Read more »
Still Jilly, I bet your dad is quite proud of you at the end of the day!
He would be 104 if he were still with us, but, yes, we became very close as the years went by. He grew a lot more liberal, and I grew a lot more conservative! I often wish we could have a chat about recent developments. “Homosexuals are getting married? Son of a gun!” He behaved worse in church than anyone I have ever known, asking me in loud whispers if the daughter of the lady in front of us had a baby out of wedlock and pointing out that somebody’s fancy mink hat looked like a dead Siamese. “That man’s… Read more »
“When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to 21 I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.” (Mark Twain)
Hey Jilly, I wonder if your Dad and Mark Twain’s Dad are related?! ; – )
They totally sound alike! ; – )
“He grew a lot more liberal, and I grew a lot more conservative!”
“If a conservative is a liberal who’s been mugged, a liberal is a conservative who’s been arrested.” ~ A Different Wag
“And I will always remember the first time his words came tumbling out of my mouth … ”
“A conservative is a liberal who’s been mugged.” ~ Some Wag
I’m 68. The key to the ’60’s was the music. The music was the spirit and inspired events which in turn inspired the music. It fed on itself and ultimately devoured itself giving rise to the despair which was addressed by the “Jesus Movement” of the 70’s. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” It can’t be replicated by a bunch of suits peddling soft drinks! It’s been a long day. Time for a bourbon and water and some baby snuggles-maybe listen to The Band or Dylan!
And don’t forget “Uncle John’s Band.”
lookin at grand kids I wonder “Where does the time go?”
I know what you mean about the poor villages. I see those companies as shrewd. Like the shrewd manager in the parable. I heard once of missionaries traveling to unreached people groups in mountains in China (unreached by the Gospel that is), only to discover that Coke had gotten there first. We should learn from them, I suppose.
“No village so poor that a Coke or Pepsi truck didn’t come through every few weeks. I am wondering when young people began to see giant corporations as allies–because a lot of them do.” For some strange reason, your comments bring to mind not one, but two scenes from one of my all-time fave TV shows, “Malcolm in the Middle”: In one, Lois (ruthless and mega-smart Mom of four delinquent sons) is trying to coax one of them into either fessing up to burning her dress, or to ratting out the brother who did, working and shmoozing each one separately… Read more »
LOL, my first thought was this is a laundry soap commercial. Seriously, have you ever seen so many sparkly whites and freshly washed people? Either Mommy or the illegal Hispanic maid still does their laundry for them. I remember when Occupy came to town, many of them were actually kids with large trust funds. We began to call it Occupy the Ritz, because in the evening they were all sleeping in a motel and you could drive by and see them all gathered in the hot tub. It used to be kind of funny and tragic, “we are the 99%,”… Read more »
Limousine liberals.
But I have to say, in all honesty, that I used to be one of them. I didn’t have a large trust fund, but I never had to worry about the cost of tuition or room and board. I think that affluent kids have probably always tended toward liberalism simply because they are sheltered from ever having to pay for anything themselves.
Speaking for myself, my views weren’t hypocritical. I truly believed I was struggling for the rights of people who couldn’t struggle for themselves.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imUigBNF-TE
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/pepsi-ad-how-why-was-made-991617
I get what Doug is saying and entirely agree. But what does that have to do with the price of rice in China? What’s so outrageously awful about the Pepsi ad to force them to take it down and apologize for it? It’s not the revolution or movement I’m necessarily for, but if you take ideology out of it and just measure it by morality and ethics: what was wrong with the ad?
They “jumped the shark” on poser, Rachel dolezal style fake “rebellion”.
Fashionistas ain’t no Sandinistas. ????
I don’t know about that. Don’t you remember Daniel Ortega’s designer sunglasses and Italian leather jackets?
Yes, he was a poser too, but still he didn’t “need no stinkin’ badges”. ????
“Rachel dolezal”
[ahem] That’ll be “Nkechi Diallo,” if you please.
(Which, being translated, means, “Gift of God.”)
For reals.
What I’ve read on left-leaning sites is that it trivializes something serious. It would be as if, during the desegregation of lunch counters in the sixties, they had run a commercial saying, “While you’re waiting to be served, have a Pepsi.” I think that you can’t remove the ideology because the ad is intended to show solidarity–“We’re the good guys; we care about what you care about.” I don’t think Pepsi cares about anything except selling more Pepsi.
Nothing’s wrong with the ad….at least if you’re employed by the Coca-Cola company! Seriously, it is pretty much a parody of what it’s trying to be. Now as a lifelong fan of Weird Al, that’s not all bad if that’s what you’re trying to do, but….these guys were serious.
Have a Coke and enjoy the fun!
Dude, looks like you’ve got the Coke thing BAD …
Or the smart aleck thing BAD…… ;^)
Oh, sure. Get called out on your Coke-olatry, then try and laugh it off like, “Who, me? I’m just being a smart aleck … ”
Nope. Too late.
/sarc
Oh, that is just too mean. I’m sitting here crying in my organic latte because you’re so cruel!
(thankfully, I’ve got friends in safe spaces…)
Just remember that when we snowflakes get together, we can form an avalanche.
It’s hard to sum it all up any better than they did: “Live for now.”
Sorry, Doug. But I think Ian is right:
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/04/pepsi-ad-success/522021/
Don’t mention the name–have a Coke and a smile!
Ugh, I think he is right.
“The ad’s point is to … position Pepsi as a facilitator in the utopian dream of pure, color-blind consumerism that might someday replace politics entirely.”
As long as the colors being blindly consumed are red, white and blue, of course!
Good piece, though.
Checkitout, Doug.
You got me to finally watch it. The rumors I had heard did not do it justice. Virtually every scene was so mind-numblingly stupid that my heart and brain both wanted to flee my stupid body for being willing to sit in front of the screen for two minutes.
“You’ve got a lot to live, and pepsi’s got a lot to give!”
J’, chill out and have a Pepsi!
????
Man… That’s pretty gay
“It is the same problem as when you have a punk rocker, as ratty and raggedy as all get out, everything disheveled, except for the perfection of the orthodontic work.” This is a dumb objection. If you think of an advertising spot as a short film, it should be obvious why they aren’t putting ugly people in them. I take it you also boycott films set in medieval times, as all the actors have perfect teeth? I understand you hate liberals, hate their protests, and want them to be shown in the worst light possible, but surely you don’t expect… Read more »
I don’t think you have much of a point there.
However, Wilson’s “punk rock/teeth” comment is interesting. Johnny Rotten (of the Sex Pistols) was known for his awful teeth. The band was marketed as anarchists of the left-wing variety (70s version of Pacific NW protestors and black-clad thugs who attack Trump supporters). However, John Lyndon (Rotten’s real name) is now a pro-Brexit, pro-Trump, anti-SJW type.
http://www.breitbart.com/london/2017/03/27/working-class-spoken-punk-legend-johnny-rotten-praises-brexit-trump-farage/
“Associate your product with something high status..”?
Yeah, Pepsi probably should have gone with the Clinton Foundation’s office party, down on Jeff Epstein’s private sex island! ????
Take the Pepsi Challenge during a Spirit Cooking! Nothing like enjoying soft drinks with a pig’s blood splattered on the wall…
Ahhh….
The Clinton / Epstein spirit cooking Luau!
Sponsored by Pepsi and posers!
The takeaway is that Pepsi tried to ascertain who is high status, and didn’t end up with the Tea Party.
And yet they came away with…………..Kendal Jenner?
Matt,….. are you and she the same sort of …….”awesome?” ; – )
Do you hate the Tea party Matt? ; – )
So things SJWs love are cool and high status because the MSM and pop culture say they are? You’re setting a really low bar there.
Matt’s sort of right and sort of off-kilter.
Perhaps I don’t really know what an SJW is anymore (it seems to just be a catch-all insult from the right now), but did you really see things SJW’s love in this commercial? A bunch of corporate models smiling and carrying non-threatening corporate slogans in service of a corporate product? Other than the group being demographically relatively representative of the young American population, I wasn’t seeing much to please a SJW anywhere in there. It was more likely a parody.
I think it’s a pity that the phrase conveys such a negative meaning. We are supposed to be SJW’s in the sense that we should not react to real injustice with indifference. I wish we could have been more precise in identifying what is objectionable. “Condescending elitists who want to impose their often hypocritical values on other people and who think the masses have no ability to run their own lives” isn’t nearly so catchy but might have been closer to the mark. I have the same mixed feelings about “political correctness.” Gently ridiculing people who object to words like… Read more »
I agree, but i think it started out somewhat sarcastically — self-involved, childish whiners who THINK they’re warriors for the mighty cause of social justice, but they’re more like little boys pointing sticks at trees and wearing paper hats, thinking they’re soldiers.
They may well have missed their target, but they were definitely aiming for it.
Where I live, it’s because the faux-SJW’s spend so much time reminding you of the moral superiority of their preferences. These include shopping at Whole Foods and farmers’ markets, driving hybrids or Scandinavian cars, providing one’s own cloth grocery bags, dining at the kind of restaurant that cooks the food in front of you, demanding that your bread and cheese be made by artisans, preferring a quaint B&B to an ordinary hotel, and taking vacations to places noted chiefly for their obscurity. How else did Iceland become the number one tourist destination? I would love to go to a dinner… Read more »
Conservative Christians spend oodles of time talking about the moral superiority of their preferences. It mostly has no effect in that case though.
The left is cool and high status yes. I wouldn’t say it is driven by the MSM or any other single factor. What is odd to me is that losing an election in a major upset didn’t shift this balance one bit.
It absolutely is. Who controls the headlines (which are very deceptive and biased) people see on Yahoo and Facebook? Do you think the average ADD, dopamine-drip-addicted millennial has the critical thinking skills to know what’s really cool and what’s he being sold.
I think the media would love it if they had this kind of power, but the last election should have shattered that illusion for good.
Who are we considering the “average” millenial? Trump won among whites 18-29 and 30-44 while losing all other racial groups in those age ranges. This doesn’t mean whites 18-44 have critical thinking skills, but it does imply they aren’t being led around by the media.
Pepsi is obviously trying the formula that sex + liberal political action = sales. I don’t fault them for trying it. It is obviously a phony commercial world, but most advertisements are nothing like the real world. I don’t think the ad would pay off for them, even without the backlash. But I don’t see the need to censor this. The end result for me is that I hated Pepsi soft drinks before, and after seeing the ad, as a health-conscious conservative, I am even less likely to give them my dime.