Screen Shot From The Mountain Dew Ad “The Line Up”
After enduring a relentless social media backlash for the past week, PepsiCo and Mountain Dew have pulled what AdWeek called “the most racist ad in history.”
The ad, one of a series from Odd Future leader Tyler, the Creator, shows a white woman who has been the obvious victim of an assault. The woman is asked to identify her assailant in a lineup populated entirely by black men along with the culprit, a goat, who threatens her with phrases like, “Ya better not snitch on a playa,” and “Snitches get stitches.”
In his review of the ad, author and social commentator, Dr. Boyce Watkins, noted that all the suspects are black and they’re “not just regular black people, but the kinds of ratchety negroes you might find in the middle of any hip-hop minstrel show,” and adding, “Apparently, this is the kind of ad you put out if you want to appeal to the black male demographic.”
Then, there are the ladies of BlogHer asking “how does Pepsi think promoting violence against women as humor will make someone want to drink their soda?”
An apology was issued today from PepsiCo: ”We understand how this video could be perceived by some as offensive, and we apologize to those who were offended,” the rep said. “We have removed the video from all Mountain Dew channels and have been informed that Tyler is removing it from his channels as well.”
