FILE - In this Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, file photo, model Kendall Jenner has makeup applied backstage before the Michael Kors Spring 2017 collection is modeled during Fashion Week, in New York. Pepsi... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, file photo, model Kendall Jenner has makeup applied backstage before the Michael Kors Spring 2017 collection is modeled during Fashion Week, in New York. Pepsi is not saying whether it will continue to run an ad, featuring Jenner, that is being widely criticized... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, file photo, model Kendall Jenner has makeup applied backstage before the Michael Kors Spring 2017 collection is modeled during Fashion Week, in New York. Pepsi is not saying whether it will continue to run an ad, featuring Jenner, that is being widely criticized... (Associated Press) FILE - In this Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, file photo, model Kendall Jenner has makeup applied backstage before the Michael Kors Spring 2017 collection is modeled during Fashion Week, in New York. Pepsi... (Associated Press) 
 
 NEW YORK (AP) — Pepsi on Wednesday pulled an ad after it was widely mocked and criticized for appearing to trivialize protests for social justice causes. 
 
 "Pepsi was trying to project a global message of unity, peace and understanding," the company said. "Clearly we missed the mark, and we apologize." 
 
 It said it was "removing the content and halting any further rollout." 
 
 The ad shows Kendall Jenner, a member of the "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" reality TV family, stepping away from a modeling shoot to join a crowd of smiling, young protesters. The protesters cheer after Jenner hands a can of Pepsi to a police officer, who takes a sip. 
 
 PepsiCo Inc. had previously said the ad was created by its in-house team and that it would "be seen globally across TV and digital" platforms. 
 
 It initially described the spot as featuring "multiple lives, stories and emotional connections that show passion, joy, unbound and uninhibited moments. No matter the occasion, big or small, these are the moments that make us feel alive." That description was also derided on social media. 
 
 The Purchase, New York, company had stood by the ad late Tuesday. By Wednesday, it was apologizing to Jenner for putting her "in this position." 
 
 Critics say the image of Jenner handing the officer a Pepsi evoked a photo of Black Lives Matter protester Ieshia Evans approaching an officer at a demonstration in Baton Rouge last year. Others criticized the protesters' signs for being comically innocuous, with messages like "Join the Conversation" and heart and peace signs. The website Gothamist expressed a common sentiment online in calling the ad "gloriously tone-deaf." 
 
 Among those mocking the ad was Bernice King, who tweeted a photo of her father, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., being confronted by a police officer at a protest march. "If only Daddy would have known about the power of #Pepsi," the tweet said. 
 
 Larry Chiagouris, a professor of marketing at Pace University, said that the backlash was in part because Pepsi was a couple years "late to the party" with its message about unity, making its ad seem exploitive. 
 
 Still, he also noted that the fallout wouldn't necessarily be that damaging, since a lot of the negative sentiment expressed on social media is "easily washed away overnight." 
 
 It isn't the first time PepsiCo has backpedaled and apologized for an ad. In 2013, it pulled a Mountain Dew ad that was criticized for portraying racial stereotypes and appearing to make light of violence toward women. It pulled that ad from online channels, and said it was never intended to run on TV. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Follow Candice Choi at www.twitter.com/candicechoi ||||| Kendall Jenner's new ad for Pepsi has fallen flat. 
 
 After pumping up the excitement for her new role as a Pepsi spokesperson, the model unveiled her debut ad on Tuesday and quickly became the target of backlash, as did the soda company. 
 
 In the ad, Jenner is seen participating in a photo shoot and becomes distracted by a group of protesters. She decides to join them, and toward the end, comes face-to-face with a stoic police officer. She offers him a Pepsi and he accepts the drink before cracking a smile. 
 
 The ad was quickly accused of appropriating the Black Lives Matter movement and using social justice to sell soda. 
 
 The imagery was also thought by some to be far too similar to photos of Ieshia Evans, a protester who was detained by law enforcement while protesting in Baton Rouge following the shooting death of Alton Sterling at the hands of police. 
 
 Kendall Jenner: Can I copy off of you? 
 
 
 
 Iesha Evans: No. 
 
 
 
 Kendall:* Looks over shoulder anyway* 
 
 Damn that. I'm getting this Pepsi money. pic.twitter.com/NUXwCZnM7p — C I L L My Landlord (@GuruBluXVIII) April 4, 2017 
 
 "Pepsi's new ad Kendall Jenner 'ends racism' by handing police men a Pepsi - way to degrade 50 yrs of black/minority struggle," wrote one person on Twitter. 
 
 Lmao Pepsi's new ad Kendall Jenner 'ends racism' by handing police men a Pepsi - way to degrade 50 yrs of black/minority struggle — Hanorah (@HanorahHardy) April 4, 2017 
 
 "Can you believe Kendall Jenner solved all the Black Lives Matter issues by giving a Pepsi to a cop? inspiring," wrote another, sarcastically. 
 
 can you believe kendall jenner solved all the black lives matter issues by giving a pepsi to a cop? inspiring. — Danii G (@gerbatron) April 4, 2017 
 
 "Next time @pepsi do one where Kendall Jenner marches to Montgomery but the cops don't bludgeon her bc she's white & has a refreshing @pepsi," added New Yorker contributing writer Jia Tolentino. 
 
 Community organizer Deray McKesson also commented on the ad, tweeting, "If I had carried Pepsi I guess I never would've gotten arrested. Who knew?" 
 
 If I had carried Pepsi I guess I never would've gotten arrested. Who knew? — deray mckesson (@deray) April 5, 2017 
 
 The ad was part of what Pepsi was calling its "moments" campaign. 
 
 Jenner's ad was called "Jump In," "a short film about the moments when we decide to let go, choose to act, follow our passion and nothing holds us back," according to a company description. 
 
 In a statement to CNN, Pepsi said: "This is a global ad that reflects people from different walks of life coming together in a spirit of harmony, and we think that's an import message to convey." 
 
 Jenner has not weighed in on the backlash. 
 
 As of 11:30 p.m. ET, the ad featuring Jenner had been viewed more than 280,000 times. ||||| Yesterday, the Internet was devastatingly angered by Pepsi’s latest Kendall Jenner-starring advert that trivialised the Black Live Matter movement to promote their cola. 
 
 While the company may have pulled the advert, claiming they “we missed the mark”, that didn’t stop late-night comedians ripping into Pepsi. 
 
 Kicking things off was Stephen Colbert: “We have a deeply divided nation,” the Late Show host said. “But today, it seems that everyone has come together to join the protest against the new protest ad from Pepsi.” 
 
 The 52-year-old then began to dissect exactly what happens throughout the advert, barely containing his own laughter: "It starts with a throng of beautiful, multi-ethnic people protesting in the streets of, I’m gonna guess Newport, Rhode Island. 
 
 Pepsi and Kendall Jenner criticised over new advert that 'co-opts police brutality' 
 
 “So far, we don’t know what has caused all of America’s hot extras to take to the streets. But I’m guessing it’s a protest for ‘Attractive Lives Matter.’” 
 
 Black Lives Matter organizes march to Trump tower 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 15 show all Black Lives Matter organizes march to Trump tower 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1/15 Kandy Freeman participates in a Black Lives Matter protest in front of Trump Tower in New York City, U.S. January 14, 2017. Stephanie Keith/Reuters 
 
 2/15 People participate in a Black Lives Matter protest in front of Trump Tower in New York City, U.S. January 14, 2017. Stephanie Keith/Reuters 
 
 3/15 Hawk Newsome, a Black Lives Matter activist, leads a protest outside Trump Tower in New York City on January 14, 2017. Dominick Reuter/AFP/Getty Images 
 
 4/15 Hawk Newsome (C) leads a chant during a Black Lives Matter protest in front of Trump Tower in New York City, US. January 14, 2017. Dominick Reuter/AFP/Getty Images 
 
 5/15 People participate in a Black Lives Matter protest in front of Trump Tower in New York City, U.S. January 14, 2017. Stephanie Keith/Reuters 
 
 6/15 An NYPD officer speaks with a Black Lives Matter leaders during a protest in the snow outside Trump Tower in New York City on January 14, 2017. Dominick Reuter/AFP/Getty Images 
 
 7/15 Kandy Freeman participates in a Black Lives Matter protest in front of Trump Tower in New York City, U.S. January 14, 2017. Stephanie Keith/Reuters 
 
 8/15 An NYPD officer speaks with a Black Lives Matter leaders during a protest in the snow outside Trump Tower in New York City on January 14, 2017. Dominick Reuter/AFP/Getty Images 
 
 9/15 Carol Garza, a Black Lives Matter supporter, protests outside Trump Tower in New York City on January 14, 2017. Dominick Reuter/AFP/Getty Images 
 
 10/15 People participate in a Black Lives Matter protest in front of Trump Tower in New York City, U.S. January 14, 2017. Stephanie Keith/Reuters 
 
 11/15 A Black Lives Matter supporter protests in the snow outside Trump Tower in New York City on January 14, 2017. Dominick Reuter/AFP/Getty Images 
 
 12/15 Black Lives Matter activists march in front of Trump Tower on January 14, 2017 in New York City. Kevin Hagen/Getty 
 
 13/15 Black Lives Matter activists march in front of Trump Tower on January 14, 2017 in New York City. Kevin Hagen/Getty 
 
 14/15 Black Lives Matter supporters protest in the snow outside Trump Tower in New York City on January 14, 2017. Dominick Reuter/AFP/Getty Images 
 
 15/15 Black Lives Matter Kandy Freeman marches in front of Trump Tower on January 14, 2017 in New York City. Kevin Hagen/Getty 
 
 Colbert then pointed to the signs each model was holding, commenting in particular on the “Join the Conversation” banner, calling it “the most corporate message ever,” adding it should have read: “We are all the corporate demographic.” 
 
 One last target: the absurdity of Kendall Jenner doing a fashion shoot seemingly for “aluminium siding” and ripping off her wig. Colbert then zoomed in on the woman Jenner hands the wig too, who Colbert says “is not thrilled about being Kendall’s wig caddie.” Watch below. 
 
 Meanwhile, Colbert recently had Louis CK on his show, the stand-up comedian calling President Donald Trump “a gross crook dirty rotten lying sack of sh*t”
– Pepsi has given up trying to defend what some people are calling the worst ad of all time. The company has pulled its widely ridiculed ad featuring Kendall Jenner as a model who joins a protest and hands a can of Pepsi to a riot cop, the AP reports. "Pepsi was trying to project a global message of unity, peace, and understanding," the company said in a statement. "Clearly we missed the mark, and we apologize." Pepsi also apologized to Jenner for putting her "in this position." The ad, which showed protesters with signs like "Join the Conversation," was strongly criticized for hijacking the imagery of real protest movements like Black Lives Matter to sell soft drinks. Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., delivered one of the most powerful criticisms, tweeting a photo of her father being pushed back by police at a protest march and quipping: "If only Daddy would have known about the power of #Pepsi." Stephen Colbert was among the late-night hosts poking fun at the ad on Wednesday, the Independent reports. "We have a deeply divided nation," said the Late Show host. "But today, it seems that everyone has come together to join the protest against the new protest ad from Pepsi." He described the "Join the Conversation" banner as "the most corporate message ever."