Pepsi, Politics, and Activism
The Pepsi commercial with Kendall Jenner at a protest illustrates the co-opting of social activism by corporations. Many companies want to tap into the audiences drawn in by activism. Through the deliberate commodification of activism they seek to bring it unto the mainstream and make a buck. However, efforts like Pepsi’s exhibit the shallow nature of corporations’ activism.
While there aim was, perhaps, to seem as in touch with social activist trends and to place their product as a peacebuilding bridge between activists and the police, the entire effort undermines the vitality of real activist struggles. Activism that deals with the issues of police brutality and mass incarceration that are linked to growing wealth inequality and the decay of urban centers such as Detroit. Corporate efforts like Pepsi’s make a mockery of the complex reality of issues that have systemic social-economic roots.
This brings to mind the documentary — The Pervert’s Guide to Ideology — by the philosopher Slavoj Žižek, in which he explores the use of ideology in media as a mechanism that shapes what we believe and how we behave, usually for the benefit of those in power and those who pursue profit.
The film — They Live — by John Carpenter, analyzed by Žižek in his documentary, aptly shows the subtle messaging in commercials such as Pepsi’s that are assaulting us every day through advertisements and in popular culture. We have to ask ourselves what a commercial like Pepsi’s is actually telling us. Is it just a failed tongue-in-cheek attempt at selling us a product? Probably but when taking it literally we get a very different message. At face value it is telling us that our social problems can be fixed by just buying some product. In doing so, it completely disregards serious attempts to address the root causes. At minimum it absorbs our collective attention span distracting us from having a public discussion on the issue.
If you haven’t before, I highly suggest the documentary and movie referred to above.
