Live For Now Moments.

TLDR

PepsiCo released a two-and-a-half minute spot in which a model leaves a photoshoot, joins an unnamed protest, and defuses the tension by handing a police officer a can of Pepsi.

The backlash was immediate and near-universal: critics said the ad trivialised protest movements and appropriated the imagery of civil rights demonstrations to sell a soft drink. Pepsi pulled the ad the following day and issued an apology to the public and to the talent involved.

It remains the standard reference for a campaign that tested well internally and had no defenders outside the building.