Brands & Merch

Pepsi pulls Tyler, The Creator’s Mountain Dew adverts

By | Published on Thursday 2 May 2013

Tyler, The Creator

So, it turns out that that bizarre Mountain Dew advert directed by Odd Future leader Tyler, The Creator that did the rounds in March was real. So, indeed, was the second one. And the third. Though the third one has proved problematic – and the soft drink’s parent company Pepsi this week pulled the entire series following accusations that the latest addition portrays racial stereotypes and makes light of violence towards women.

In the latest advert, a white woman on crutches is asked to pick her attacker from a police line-up consisting of several black men and a goat. The goat urges her not to “snitch on a player” and “keep ya mouth shut”, before she screams “I can’t do this!” and runs out of the room.

The advert follows on from a storyline laid out in the previous two adverts, which see the woman in question, a waitress, attacked by the goat, which is called Felicia and voiced by Tyler. A fact the Odd Future man pointed out on Twitter by shouting: “IDIOTS THE LADY IN THE NEW MOUNTAIN DEW COMMERCIAL IS THE WAITRESS THAT GOT ATTACK RETARD”. His point being that the third advert follows a clear narrative which runs throughout the series (which you can see below) and makes sense in context. Hence, it’s difficult to see why none of this has proved problematic before.

Odd Future’s manager Christian Clancy also commented on the controversy yesterday, saying on Tumblr: “It was never Tyler’s intention to offend, however offense is personal and valid to anyone who is offended. Out of respect to those that were offended the ad was taken down. For those who know and respect Tyler he is known for pushing boundaries and challenging stereotypes through humor. This is someone who grew up on David Chappelle. This situation is layered with context and is a discussion that Tyler would love to address in the right forum as he does have a point of view”.

You can watch all three adverts here.



READ MORE ABOUT: | |