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PR Wins and Disasters: What Separates Success from Failure?

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by

Keeley Iserman
in

Lessons from Pepsi’s misstep and Barbie’s cultural takeover

Why PR Campaigns Succeed or Fail

At the end of the day, successful PR campaigns come down to three things research, authenticity, and strategy. Strong research, careful strategy, and authenticity are all essential for successful campaigns, as the RPIE model shows. The Lead Balloon and When Things Go Wrong Podcasts point out the importance of transparency, audience awareness, and quick, consistent replies in preventing and managing crises.

Best practices from the podcasts include:

  • Ensure campaigns align with real values
  • Base decisions on audience insight, not assumptions
  • Respond quickly and take accountability
  • Maintain consistent messaging during crises

These principles are clearly shown when comparing a major PR disaster and a major PR success.

Biggest PR Disaster: Pepsi’s Kendall Jenner Ad (2017)

One of the most tone-deaf PR campaigns of the last decade is Pepsi’s 2017 “Live for Now” advertisement, which starred Kendall Jenner. Many viewers felt that the commercial dismissed important social justice movements by showing Jenner giving a police officer a Pepsi to end a protest.

The New York Times reports that the backlash was so strong that Pepsi had to remove the advertisement within a day and apologize in public (Victor, 2017). According to PR Week, Pepsi quickly removed the advertisement and admitted it ‘missed the mark’ after facing widespread backlash (Quenqua, 2017).

What Went Wrong

  • Lack of formative research: Pepsi didn’t understand the cultural and political situation surrounding the protest.
  • Inauthentic messaging: The ad tried to place the brand to activism without credibility.
  • Poor audience analysis: the campaign ignored how different groups could interpret the message.

What They Should Have Done

  • Conduct focus groups and message testing before release
  • Perform cultural sensitivity analysis
  • Develop messaging aligned with authentic brand values
  • Use ongoing evaluation to catch issues early

This failure goes to show how skipping the research and planning stages of the RPIE model can lead to major reputational damage.

Biggest PR Success: Barbie Movie Campaign (2023)

The 'Barbie' Snub - True Star Media
An Immersive Barbieland for Zara - Random Studio

On the other hand, one of the most effective PR campaigns in recent years is the 2023 Barbie movie campaign. Strategic partnerships, social media trends, and cohesive branding all added to the campaign’s huge buzz.


The New York Times reported that the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon helped turn Barbie into a major cultural event, drawing widespread audience engagement and box office success (Karaian & Russell, 2023). The campaign’s successful blending of multiple communication channels while maintaining a consistent message was also highlighted by PR Week, showing how strategic integration can amplify a campaign’s overall impact.

What They Did Right

  • Strong engagement: Encouraged user-generated content and social sharing
  • Consistent branding: Instantly recognizable visuals across all platforms
  • Deep audience insight: Leveraged nostalgia and modern feminist themes
  • Integrated strategy: Used paid, earned, shared, and owned media together

In contrast, the Barbie campaign successfully executed all four stages of RPIE, from strong audience research to effective evaluation through engagement metrics.

Conclusion: Strategy and Authenticity Drive PR Outcomes

The contrast between Pepsi and Barbie highlights a critical lesson, successful PR campaigns are built on research, while failures often result from ignoring it. Pepsi’s campaign lacked audience understanding and authenticity, leading to backlash, while Barbie’s campaign thrived because it was strategic, culturally aware, and consistent. As said throughout the semester, PR professionals must prioritize research and align messaging with audience values to succeed in today’s fast-moving media landscape.

References:

Karaian, J., & Russel, K. (2023). “Barbenheimer” weekend was a real team effort. New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/24/business/barbie-oppenheimer-weekend-box-office.html

Lead Balloon. (2022). Sherwin-Williams paints itself into a corner on TikTok [Season 1, episode 27] https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sherwin-williams-paints-itself-into-a-corner-on/id1485450196?i=1000549764691

Levick, R. (2021). Managing the impossible: Communication during crises. When Things Go Wrong. https://open.spotify.com/episode/31klJZJUwfoNjgwOOyzLkl?si=LPEBPftQQp-e9z5wFgf-TQ&dl_branch=1

Quenqua, D. (2017). Pepsi says ‘sorry’ and removes Kendall Jenner ad from the web. PR Week. https://www.prweek.com/article/1429761/pepsi-says-sorry-removes-kendall-jenner-ad-web

Victor, D. (2017). Pepsi pulls ad accused of trivializing Black Lives Matter. New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/05/business/kendall-jenner-pepsi-ad.html

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