Image caption PepsiCo apologised for the ad and took "full responsibility" for any offence

US soft drinks giant PepsiCo has withdrawn a commercial over criticism that it depicts racial stereotypes and makes light of violence against women.

The online ad shows a battered white woman on crutches being asked to identify a suspect out of a police line-up of black men and a goat.

One blogger described the 60-second video as "arguably the most racist commercial in history".

PepsiCo has since apologised for the ad for its Mountain Dew soft drink.

In the video, the goat threatens to beat the woman up if she identifies him to the police.

The woman eventually screams in horror and runs away.

The dialogue in the clip is a wordplay around "Dew It" - the slogan promoting Mountain Dew.

In a statement on Wednesday, PepsiCo said that it took "full responsibility" for any offence caused by commercial.

It said it had removed the ad from its online channels.

The material was developed by African-American rapper Tyler the Creator.