Intersectionality In Advertising

Advertisements help define the key target goal or the company’s product. This can be done through a certain company evaluating individual’s daily lives. Opinions, current events, and an image of status are such inferences that advisements take into consideration. Forming their idea, companies might use intersectionality by using gender roles, racial practices, and religion to connect the audience with the ad for future profit. A very current and controversial advertisement by Pepsi is just one example that uses multiple aspects of intersectionality to appeal to their audience. The commercials central idea focuses on standing out, but with, the crowd by “living bold”. The use of different cultures and status are highly noticeable just by
watching a couple of minutes. Located in a big city, the commercial starts off with an opening of a Pepsi can with a cellist moving with the music. This shows the individualism of the person who looks passionate about his music. A riot is being shown through different individuals chanting with their fists in the air. Differences in signs are used with peace signs, peace sayings, “love”, “join the conversation” sayings, and some Chinese letters. Usually, the dominant colors of the posters were red, white, and blue. The riot contains different races and cultures, shown evidently through clothing and head wear. The scene intertwines with a Muslim woman making a collage of pictures. Pepsi utilizes the famous celebrity, Kendall Jenner as a model on the side of the road while the march is occurring. This shows her wearing a blonde wig with a shiny dress and heals, causally being photographed for a possible magazine shoot. The march gets noticed by Kendall, the cellist and the Muslim women. The Muslim women gets frustrated with her collage and notices the outbreaks, bringing a camera. When the music changes, different individuals start dancing and musicians of guitar and the cellist plays. Kendall joins the march when the cellist at the beginning of the commercial invites her to join while he is marching alongside the crowd. Dramatically, Kendall joins by removing her wig and wimping her purple lipstick off. The riots start forming near the police officers who are blocking the rest of the road. The scenes use the images of individuals such as a homosexual couple and interracial groups of Caucasians and African Americans together. Kendall approaches a police officer with a can of Pepsi. One police man opens it and takes a sip. With a relaxed reaction, the officer smiles and the crowd goes wild with fits in the air and dancing occurring, with the individuals expressing joy. The crowd comes together throw high-fives and clapping. Throughout the commercial, the music reflects statements such as “we are the movement” and “we’re going to shine out the dark.” Pepsi ends the commercial with “live boulder”, “live louder”, “live for now”, with Kendal leading the group. The advertisement uses concepts of intersectionality to show the differences in individuals.
The concept reflects how different genders, sexuality, and races are coming together to protest. The commercial uses individuals and objects as symbols to reflect these aspects. For example, the Pepsi ad shows some segments in the commercial of homosexual couples fighting in the march. The use of this impacts how the commercial utilizes acceptance and equality of all individuals. The advertisement reflects on current events in the past year. The movement of Black Lives Matter was reflected with the police massacre. During this time, the African American community was targeted by the police for committing crimes across the U.S. This trend was created on social media after three deaths of African American men, including Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown and Eric Gardner. The deaths resulted from police shooting them during protesting for racial equality. The commercial reflected the movement by the police officers and signs. For example, the ad showed signs of joining a conversation, recruiting others to talk about the event and be included in the protesting for equality. Also, the commercial was clearly centered around Kendall Jenner giving a Pepsi to a police officer. The Pepsi was a symbol of divination, or an object that has a certain power. This eased the ice between the police and the citizens of the commercial, reflecting the tension was through. The commercial also shows cultural
backgrounds through symbolizing clothing. For example, the commercial used a Muslim woman in the commercial. She was an artist who did a collage of photos at the beginning and captured the interaction with the police and Kendall Jenner on her camera. The women wore a hijab, as like the women in “Do Muslim Women Need Saving?” This reflects the security of the women through the wear of a “mobile home” as a sign of respect and privacy. The commercial utilizes her to symbolize the different cultures in the crowd to show the similar opinions on the movement. The advertisement uses concepts of class and status to show the hierarchy in society. The multipurpose act of Kendall Jenner shows how the celebrity became the activist of the crowd at the end of the commercial. The ad utilizes her fame to construct the idea that regardless of status, everyone can be included within the group of protestors to attempt to stand up to authority. This shows some aspects of her higher class than individuals such as the cellist and the Muslim women who were bystanders in the march. The target audience of the brand is the general public of the U.S. This includes everyone of different sexuality, gender, class or culture. The idea of buying a Pepsi symbolizes boldness through togetherness and equality that can follow. This can be shown through the police officer easing the tensions of the riot after sipping a Pepsi. This impacts the target audience’s opinions through the multiple contributions to the certain events of Black Lives Matter within the individual massacres. The public can reflect on their own opinions through campaigning for what they believe in or ease the tensions, like Pepsi is trying to symbolize. Pepsi utilizes the lifestyle of “living bold” through the use of the riot crowds. The documentary on company branding, No Logo, talks about how companies utilize a certain lifestyle through evaluating what individuals are saying and doing. Pepsi did this through researching the massacre of Black Lives Matter through recreating a march similar to multiple that already occurred. Thus, the image of the brand was seen through the imagery and symbols conducted by the company to emphasizes the lifestyle change of boldness and equality. Within the context of the commercial, controversial topics of opinion have been stormed across social media sites.
My opinion of the Pepsi commercial is that the ad was unsuccessful on the topic of easing tensions and bringing individuals together to “live bolder”. In fact, it only caused more tensions and started back the conversation of the events rather than, “joining” them. Such as the aspect of Black Lives Matter and the shootings by the police. Another approach or idea to the commercial is that Pepsi should remove these events to their commercial to prevent tensions from arising. An idea for example, could be a more relaxed approach such as a conversation between individuals or a sporting event. Because Pepsi is already a globalized company with business across the world, the commercial could be more relaxed and nonpolitical approach that could be more successful. These aspects displayed in the commercial were too conversational that the media only criticized the issue of the ad, rather than understanding the commercials approach. For example, Martin Luther Kings son, Bernice King tweeted, “If only Daddy would have known about the power of #Pepsi”. Others say that this power is ignorant or not being a realistic factor. TV personal on SNL and other comedians had a field day with the commercial itself, exaggerating the details within their own opinions of the ad. These TV celebrities showcase and glorify the commercial to make the ad even more public for more
conversations. Thus, the commercial received immediate feedback because of their use of contexts within the ad. This feedback was taken into high consideration by Pepsi and thus, the commercial was removed online by the company. The controversial topics imbedded within the Pepsi commercial reflect aspects of intersectionality. These shows how methods of gender, class, and race can truly impact societies views on such subjects. The controversy of Black Lives Matter and shooting massacres show how the public audience feels towards the commercials standpoint of “live bolder”. Through these accepts, backlashes of opinions stormed across social media because of the commercials contents. As a result, the commercial impacted the conversation of these topics by returning them to the spotlight once again.