Pepsi’s Marketing Misfires

Everyone knows the infamous Pepsi ad starring Kendall Jenner. What was supposed to be a celebration of unity turned out to be racially insensitive and trivialized many social issues, leaving people feeling angry and hurt (Hart, n.d.). With all the resources for proper market research, one wonders how such a large company could make such a big blunder. 

Pepsi was founded in 1893 by Caleb Brandham (The History of Pepsi). Brandham was a young pharmacist then and needed another product to draw people into his store. So, he would often experiment with soft drinks and then have friends and patrons test them (The History of Pepsi). About five years after starting his experimentations, Brandham finally created the perfect combination (The History of Pepsi). It was known as “Brad’s Drink,” but it would eventually be turned into “Pepsi-Cola” (The History of Pepsi). By 1902, the Pepsi-Cold Company was on its way to becoming one of the largest soda companies in history (The History of Pepsi).

Now, a company with over 100 years worth of experience should be fairly well-versed in its marketing scheme. However, Pepsi has made multiple major marketing blunders over the years. 

The most recent of which is the Kendall Jenner ad, which debuted in 2017. The ad follows Kendall watching a protest outside, a protester nods at her to come, so she takes her blonde off and joins the protest (Pepsi, 2017). She eventually gives the policemen a Pepsi as an olive branch to the police, symbolically solving the issue (Pepsi, 2017).

The ad was tone-deaf, lacked any type of cultural awareness, and attempted to use Pepsi as a way to solve social issues (D’Addario, 2017). The brand was attempting to sell a virtue rather than a product, but the methodology used was lackluster at best (D’Addario, 2017).

Attempting to be apolitical and make political statements at the same time rarely ever works nor does a lazy attempt at racial unity. And, especially in a climate where tensions are high between diverse groups, it seems to be a very misguided step (D’Addario, 2017). Overall, people saw the ad as bizarre and lacking understanding (D’Addario, 2017). Most felt that a soda company probably should not make a political statement to begin with (D’Addario, 2017).

Another big misstep by the company was in 1992 when it revealed a lottery on the cans (Bhotike, 2020). Pepsi and its affiliate brands printed 3-digit numbers on the underside of the cap, and if a customer found the winning number, then they could receive 1 million pesos (Bhotike, 2020). The competition seemed simple enough and was even earning a 40% increase in sales (Bhotike, 2020). However, a large mistake came when the producers of the bottles accidentally made 800,000 versions of the winning number (Bhotike, 2020). 

This mistake led to protests spreading through the stress of the Phillippines and people demanding they receive their money (Bhotike, 2020). In the midst of all the chaos, “5 people died, dozens were wounded, and around 40 company trucks were burnt” (Bhotike, 2020, paragraph 6). 

Ultimately, Pepsi owed over $32 billion in claims but only paid $18 per person who won (Bhotike, 2020). 

Marketing campaigns can be great for a company but can end badly if things go wrong. So, it’s important to complete market research and ensure your manufacturers are working with you to reach your goals. 

Works Cited: 

Bhotike, A. (2020, December 17). The Marketing Mistake that Made Pepsi Go On A Full-Fledged War With a Country. Medium. https://medium.com/digital-diplomacy/the-marketing-mistake-that-made-pepsi-go-on-a-full-fledged-war-with-a-country-bd31f3fa6d62

D’Addario, D. (2017, April 5). Why the Kendall Jenner Pepsi Ad Was Such a Glaring Misstep. Time Magazine. https://time.com/4726500/pepsi-ad-kendall-jenner/

Hart, W. (n.d.) Brands the Got Multicultural Marketing Wrong. Smart Simple Marketing. https://smartsimplemarketing.com/learn-from-multicultural-marketing-wrong/

Pepsi (n.d.) The History of Pepsi. Pepsi Battle Bros. https://pepsibrattleboro.com/the-history-of-pepsi/ 

Pepsi (2017). Pepsi – Live for the Now. Pepsi. https://youtu.be/aqQG4cGl2dI?si=vCOCuRbc2JcukTZV