Washington, May 02(ANI): PepsiCo has pulled a controversial online ad for Mountain Dew soft drink after it was criticized for portraying racial stereotypes and making light of violence toward women.
African-American rapper Tyler, the creator, developed the 60-second spot in which a battered white woman on crutches is urged by an officer to identify a suspect out of a lineup of black men.
A talking goat named Felicia is included in the lineup.
The goat makes threatening remarks to the woman, including, “Keep ya mouth shut.”
She eventually screams “I can”t do this, no no no!” and runs away.
The word “do” is in apparent reference to the soft drink’s “Dew It” slogan, CBS News reported.
PepsiCo Inc., has apologized in a statement and said it understood how the ad could be offensive.
Jen Ryan, a spokeswoman for PepsiCo, said that the company was alerted on Tuesday by its consumer relations team that some people found the ad offensive.
She said that the company immediately decided to take down the spot and was told by Tyler that he would remove it from his YouTube channel as well.
Ryan added that the ad was never intended to air on TV. (ANI)