Updated April 06, 2017 12:26:09

Pepsi has pulled an advertisement after it was widely mocked and criticised for appearing to trivialise protests for social justice causes.

The ad showed reality TV star Kendall Jenner stepping away from a photoshoot to join young, smiling protesters at a heavily policed demonstration.

She hands one policeman a can of Pepsi to defuse the tension, prompting a smile from the officer and hugs and cheers from the protesters.

Photo: Some people criticised the ad for evoking imagery of Black Lives Matter protester Ieshia Evans. (Reuters: Jonathan Bachman)

Pepsi removed the ad from YouTube less than 24 hours after it was first posted, following much online ridicule.

"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 apologise. We did not intend to make light of any serious issue."

The company said it would be "halting any further rollout" of the ad.

Some critics said the image of Jenner handing the officer a can evoked a photo of Black Lives Matter protester Ieshia Evans approaching an officer at a demonstration in Baton Rouge last year.

Others criticised the protesters' signs for being comically innocuous with vague messages like "Join the conversation" and heart and peace signs.

Photo: The protest signs used in the Pepsi ads were criticised for being innocuous and vague. (Supplied: Pepsi)

Among those mocking the ad was Bernice King, daughter of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

"If only Daddy would have known about the power of #Pepsi," the tweet said.

DeRay Mckesson, a prominent member of the Black Lives Matter movement, also added his voice to the debate.

"If I had carried Pepsi I guess I never would've gotten arrested. Who knew?" he tweeted.

Pace University marketing professor Larry Chiagouris said 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.

But he also noted the fallout would not necessarily be that damaging, since a lot of the negative sentiment expressed on social media is "easily washed away overnight".

It is not the first time PepsiCo has backpedalled and apologised for an ad: in 2013, it pulled a Mountain Dew ad criticised for portraying racial stereotypes and appearing to make light of violence toward women.

ABC/AP

Topics: social-media, race-relations, united-states

First posted April 06, 2017 11:26:18