PepsiCo has tapped Kendall Jenner to represent its brand — a move to make its products resonate more with younger consumers.
The beverage behemoth announced Tuesday that Jenner will star in Pepsi's latest "Moments" campaign, which aims at reflecting today's millennial generation and "what living for now looks like."
"To me, Pepsi is more than just a beverage — it registers as a pop culture icon and a lifestyle that shares a voice with the generation of today," Jenner said in a statement. She tweeted "honored" on Monday, referring to the Pepsi announcement, but later removed the tweet after backlash began to build online.
Jenner is a star in E! TV's reality show "Keeping up with the Kardashians." The 21-year-old fashionista is the daughter of Kris Jenner and the former Bruce Jenner — who is now known as Caitlyn after sex reassignment.
In a short film titled "Jump In," a diverse group of millennials is seen marching through the streets protesting for love while Jenner poses for a photo shoot. That is, until she decides to wipe off her makeup and walk through the streets herself, joining the peaceful protests with a Pepsi can in hand.
The ad ends by saying: "Live bolder, live louder, live for now."
2017 has been a year in which many big-name brands, such as Starbucks, Facebook and Uber, have taken a stance on social issues. Many chief executives, for example, spoke out against President Donald Trump's attempts to temporarily ban travelers from some Muslim countries.
Pepsi's latest ad campaign showcases "emotional connections" — joy, passion, unbound moments — that can bring people together amid a time of divisiveness, the company said.
In February, Chief Financial Officer Hugh Johnston said the world has gone from "a volatile place to an even more volatile place" in the previous nine months. The soft-drink company, which also owns Frito-Lay and Gatorade, said it was being cautious in its expectations for future quarters, considering a number of global factors, younger consumers' sentiment being one of them.
As millennials move away from choosing sugar-filled beverages, CEO Indra Nooyi has declared Pepsi's strategy of "performance with purpose," to focus more on healthy foods and beverages into 2017 and beyond. By 2020, Pepsi said it plans to reach $30 billion in nutritional product sales, up from $10 billion in 2010.