Social media lit up after the ad was released Tuesday.
Pepsi has pulled their controversial new ad featuring Kendall Jenner as a protest peacemaker after social media opened up a can of backlash aimed at the soda giant.
In a statement to The Associated Press Wednesday, the company said: "Pepsi was trying to project a global message of unity, peace and understanding. Clearly we missed the mark, and we apologize."
Read: Man Burned Trying to Set Fire to Himself in Protest Outside Trump Hotel
They also apologized to Jenner, saying: "We also apologize for putting Kendall Jenner in this position."
CNN Entertainment Reporter Chloe Melas told Inside Edition: "They felt like they were trying to do something good with this ad, but clearly that's not what everybody else is thinking."
The ad, which debuted Tuesday, was widely chastised on social media following its release, leading Pepsi to defend its idea to promote carbonated drinks with a theme of unity.
In a statement, the company said: "This is a global ad that reflects people from different walks of life coming together in a spirit of harmony, and we think that's an important message to convey."
The commercial shows Jenner ditching a modeling gig as protesters march outside. Armed with a can of Pepsi, she joins the marchers, and hands a police officer the soda in a gesture of goodwill, bringing the demonstration to a peaceful end.
That image is being compared to the famous photo of a nurse from Brooklyn, who appeared at a Black Lives Matter march in Baton Rouge, Louisiana last year.
Read: Casey Anthony Comes Out of Hiding to Protest Trump Outside Mar-a-Lago Estate
But after the commercial was released Tuesday, social media lit up with negative comments.
I'm guessing she should have handed them #Pepsi uh?... pic.twitter.com/JxGxghCdyI
— JR The Darkskin (@iamjtune) April 5, 2017
ok. dear corporations let this be a lesson. you run the risk of getting DRAGGED if your boardroom shows NO diversity.---there is NO excuse
— Questlove Gomez (@questlove) April 5, 2017
This @pepsi commercial really got me wanting a @CocaCola
— Dave Jones (@Classic_Dave) April 5, 2017
Aight I'm late to the #pepsi party, just watched that commercial. But wth is going on?? I mean i get it (I think?) NEED a response from coke pic.twitter.com/Q9Nc4wtLJ0
— CG (@ChrisMGMedia) April 5, 2017
Imagine putting your life on the line like this to fight for justice only to have it parodied by a soda company and a Kardashian pic.twitter.com/g55s09owVf
— jamilah (@JamilahLemieux) April 4, 2017
In America, capitalism can use anything -- anything -- to sell a product. pic.twitter.com/YfgobryqCH
— David Simon (@AoDespair) April 5, 2017
One of the more powerful tweets to come from the controversy was from Bernice King, the daughter of late civil rights icon Martin Luther King, who said:
If only Daddy would have known about the power of #Pepsi. pic.twitter.com/FA6JPrY72V
— Be A King (@BerniceKing) April 5, 2017
Watch: Trump Threatens to Cut Federal Funds at UC Berkeley After Protests Erupt on Campus
