Pepsi Ad Update

Re: the advert we discussed on Friday, in which a lifeguard was represented as willing to look the other way during a sexual assault in exchange for a can of Pepsi, PepsiCo. has started responding to emails with what appears to be a form letter, based on Shaker Hawise having dropped in comments exactly what I've received by email:

Thanks for taking the time to contact us.

I want to assure you that there's absolutely no truth to the posting you may have seen on the internet. After investigating this matter further, we learned that an advertising agency developed this print ad on "speculation" and it inadvertently made its way to the internet.

Please know that we would never use this type of imagery to sell our products. We are not using this image now, nor do we have any plans to use it in the future.

Thanks again for taking the time to bring this to our attention. We're sincerely sorry that this has upset you and we're grateful to have had the opportunity to set the record straight.

So, in fact, the responsibility evidently lies wholly with the advertising agency, CLM BBDO Paris, who decided to insert Pepsi's product into their disgusting spec ad and then leak it onto the internet for reasons unknown.

PepsiCo International is, however, a client of CLM BBDO; they are on the agency's client list and a previous campaign for Pepsi is viewable at their website. I'd be happier if Pepsi's email included a reassurance they won't continue to do business with a company who treats rape as a joke.

That said, their response is about as good a corporate reply to a concern raised about misogynist advertising as I've seen.