Fans are convinced Kendall Jenner was doing an advertisement for Coca-Cola after she carried a single can of the soda out of a bodega in a matching dress — with some calling the marketing move ingenious.
The 22-year-old model was spotted in Manhattan Monday enjoying a can of Coca-Cola that just so happened to match her orange Bec + Bridge dress.
Then the can was carried with the logo facing out towards the paparazzi when she left the bodega, which led people to become suspect of the potential product placement.
Spotted: Kendall Jenner was spotted in Manhattan Monday enjoying a can of Coca-Cola that happened to match her Bec + Bridge dress
Suspicous: Instagram feed Diet Prada then shared the imagery of Kendall and accused the model of sidestepping around FTC guidelines for the Coca-Cola product placement
Innovative: She purchased the beverage from a bodega and was pictured walking out with it. the can perfectly matched her dress
Kendall only further increased speculation of partnering with the brand when she posted what appeared to be security footage of herself buying the can inside the bodega.
Instagram feed Diet Prada, an account dedicated to being a watchdog for the fashion industry, then shared the imagery of Kendall and accused the model of sidestepping around the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) requirements for disclosing ads.
‘Short-lived Pepsi spokesmodel @kendalljenner made a glamorous bodega run in NYC yesterday to grab a can of Coke,’ the account wrote in a post that featured multiple pictures from the moment.
‘It wasn’t just any Coke though…The most recently launched Orange Vanilla flavor she chose happened to be just a couple Pantone shades away from perfectly matching her dress,’ it continued.
‘Surely enough, images of her with the beverage were soon splashed over the web. Was this color harmony a coincidence or have Jenner and Coca-Cola been scheming to skirt around the FTC’s social media advertising guidelines?’
The FTC requires that ‘influencers should clearly and conspicuously disclose their relationships to brands when promoting or endorsing products through social media.’
There she is: Kendall also shared what appeared to be security footage that showed her purchasing the can, which could be an FTC violation because it doesn’t feature an ad warning
Not surprised: Fans reacted online about the product placement and their thoughts on the sly ad placed in both paparazzi pictures and her Instagram feed
These guidelines were explicitly stated after the Fyre Festival incident happened in April 2017.
During that time, multiple celebrities and models — including Kendall Jenner — bombarded social media platforms to encourage people to attend a festival on a private island. But the festival turned out to be nothing as it was advertised, costing people thousands of dollars.
Celebrities and models were then blamed for providing ‘false advertising’ on their feeds, and now influencers have to clearly mark something is an ad on social media to best inform followers of their intentions.
Kendall sharing the security footage could break FTC guidelines, but it could also be a sly way for the model and Coca-Cola to skirt around the social media rules.
Commenters were critical of the potential advertising move by Kendall after the blatant product placement was pointed out.
‘Who tf hold a can like that?’ One commenter wanted to know after seeing the images.
Another person wrote: ‘OFC she knew what she was doing. That’s all they know how to do: advertise and make money.’
Believable: Some people thought Kendall would never actually buy a coke on her own
Throwback: The potential ad with Coca-Cola comes two years after Kendall’s infamous Pepsi ad that was later pulled because of backlash
Fans also were hard-pressed to believe Kendall would ever actually pick up a can of coke to drink.
‘Not a chance she drinks full calorie coke,’ one fan expressed.
If it was a marketing attempt by Coca-Cola and Kendall, then it appeared to serve its purpose for the brand as a number of publications covered the matching outfit with the can.
Some people online confessed it appeared to be ‘good marketing’ and innovative for the brand to place Kendall at a bodega in New York City.
The jump for the model to potentially advertise for Coca-Cola comes after she experienced controversy for filming a commercial for the brands largest rival, Pepsi.
In 2017, Kendall received backlash for filming a commercial showing her smoothing tensions between protesters and law enforcement by offering them the soft drink she was promoting.
After a storm of social media outrage accusing the commercial of insensitivity to the issue of police brutality, Pepsi pulled the ad.
Kendall has since moved on from the advertising fail and might be attempting to fix her image with soda ads by promoting Coca-Cola instead.