The Boys, an American superhero television series, perfectly satirized Kendall Jenner’s infamous 2017 Pepsi commercial by featuring A-Train, a speedster in the show known as 'the fastest man in the world'. The Boys is a show that is not afraid to tackle bold social satire, and this commercial is no different.
The two-minute commercial appeared in The Boys Season 3, Episode 4, “Glorious Five-Year Plan,”, and is a direct jab at Kendall Jenner’s infamous and controversial 2017 Pepsi commercial. The 2-minute video shows A-Train (played by Jessie T. Usher) preparing for a photo shoot when a nearby politically- motivated rally distracts him. A member of the photo shoot team asks A-Train "Where are you going? We’re almost ready to shoot,” to which A-Train gives a dramatic look back to the camera and responds “This is important.” During the second half of the commercial, he walks away from the shoot to march alongside the protestors, and eventually helps to stop a confrontation between the protestors and police by opening one of his branded Turbo Rush drinks, and handing it to an officer. At the end of the ad, everyone smiles and celebrates, and A-Train says “We’ve got to listen to each other.”
While five years have passed since the original Pepsi ad aired, The Boys did not forget it. Vought International, a fictional organization featured in The Boys, posted the video on Twitter for fans of the show. Their version of Pepsi's commercial is perfectly satirical, observant and sharp, and also just plain hilarious.
In case you don’t remember, Pepsi was accused of attempting to capitalize on the 'popularity' of protests in early 2017. It featured model Kendall Jenner walking away from a glamorous photo shoot to interrupt a heated protest nearby, and handing a Pepsi can to an armed officer with a smile. The officer drinks it, and everyone cheers. The ad sparked enormous backlash for its tone-deaf treatment of serious political issues and protests happening at the time, and for trivializing the Black Lives Matter movement. The outrage that the commercial caused was so significant that it forced both Pepsi and Jenner to make a public apology following the release of the commercial.
The Boys intended their ad in season 3 to be a humorous shot-for-shot recreation and parody of Pepsi’s 2017 faux-pas. Their parody expands the show’s ongoing critique on American capitalism and authoritarianism, and reveals its understanding of current, underlying sociopolitical issues.
The Boys is an American television series developed by Eric Kripke for Prime Video. It is based on the comic book of the same name by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, and it follows a gregarious team of vigilantes who combat supposed superheroes that are abusing their abilities. The cast includes Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Erin Moriarty, Chace Crawford, and more. The show was developed by Christopher Lennertz and Matt Bowen. The showrunner, Kripke, recently confirmed that filming for Season 4 has already begun, but no other details about the plot, additional casting, or release date for the next season have been released yet.
Seasons 1-3 of The Boys are currently available to stream on Prime Video. Check out the parody commercial below:
For comparison, you can view the Pepsi ad below: