Andrea Mandell

USA TODAY

Update: A day after releasing its tone-deaf ad about breaking through racial barriers with cola and Kendall Jenner, Pepsi is trying to put the tempest back in the bottle.

On Wednesday, the soft-drink giant apologized and announced it would pull the ad, which featured the supermodel and reality star taking off a blond wig and joining in on a Black Lives Matter-style march, handing a can of Pepsi to a cop outfitted in riot gear.

"Pepsi was trying to project a global message of unity, peace and understanding," the company explained in a statement. "Clearly, we missed the mark, and we apologize. We did not intend to make light of any serious issue. We are pulling the content and halting any further rollout. We also apologize for putting Kendall Jenner in this position."

Clearly, they were going for something iconic along the lines of "I'd like to buy the worlda Coke" or Cindy Crawford's 1992 Super Bowl ad.

The idea that actually saw the light of day: Appropriate Black Lives Matter marches across the U.S., add in Kendall Jenner pulling off a blonde wig to join in on the fun, and break the race barrier by having the lithe model hand a cop dressed in riot gear a soothing can of corporate cola. The crowd cheers!

Twitter wasted no time taking the giant beverage company to task after the clip debuted Tuesday.

The worst ad ever?

It's notable that a frame of Jenner facing off with a police officer seems to mimic the iconic photo of Black Lives Matter protester Ieshia Evans being arrested.

Overall, not the intended effect

But ... good news for Coke?