If you were anywhere near social media in the Spring of 2017, chances are you remember the infamous Pepsi ad starring Kendall Jenner — and the controversy that followed it.
To quickly recap, Kendall is seen walking through a crowd of protesters before handing a police officer a can of soda to help calm tensions and broker a truce. The officer takes a refreshing sip and, like magic, joy erupts in the crowd. Um, what?
Ya, it wasn’t a good look. Scratch that. It was a very bad look.
The outcry was immediate; particularly from members of Black Lives Matter, who blasted Pepsi for appropriating its nationwide movement against police brutality and distorting the often violent nature of police-protester interactions within the BIPOC community.
Pepsi removed the ad and swiftly apologized for “missing the mark.”
THE PR INDUSTRY AND D, E & I
One of the biggest questions to emerge following the Kendall/Pepsi debacle was how a campaign so glaringly insensitive ever got made? The most frequent explanation suggested a lack of diversity and representation among decision makers was to blame.
So, what lesson does that hold for the PR industry?
As reputation gatekeepers, PR teams have an obligation to be as diverse as the audiences their brands are trying to reach. Having a plethora of perspectives at the table makes it far less likely that a campaign with insensitive messaging or tone-deaf imagery will ever see the light of day.
Unfortunately, studies show there’s still a lot of work to be done to make the PR industry as diverse and inclusive as the audiences it serves. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the ethnic makeup of the PR industry is 87.9% white. And while some progress has been made in advancing women to leadership and board positions, the pay gap between men and women in PR is $6,000 on average.
As an agency led by women and founded by a person of colour, we strive daily to challenge this industry standard. Although we do not claim to be perfect, we prioritize diversity in the workplace, encourage radical inclusivity through our recruitment practices and share our team composition with total transparency. Currently, The Sugars are comprised of 40+% BIPOC professionals — a figure we’re very proud of but know holds space for improvement. Our agency prides itself on being an equal opportunity employer, welcoming creatives representing all backgrounds, identities, abilities, and orientations.
The world is waking up to the importance of representation across all aspects of consumer culture. As PR professionals, the best way to ensure our brands are creating diverse and inclusive campaigns is to lead by example.
Real change starts from within!
XO,
The Sugars