Kim was the first Kardashian to “break” the Internet with her naked backside in 2014; now her younger sister, supermodel Kendall Jenner has followed suit, smashing it to pieces by appearing in a hopelessly earnest, tactless advertisement for Pepsi. In the viral ad, launched Tuesday and since pulled from the Internet by the brand itself amid a storm of controversy, we see Kendall dolled up in heavy makeup and a blond wig, posing for a fashion shoot while observing — and longing to join — a rapturous demonstration on the city street before her.

Young people of all colours, shapes and sizes (Asians! Blacks! Muslims! Cute white guys with beards!) carry signs inscribed with awesomely vague slogans such as “Peace” and “Join the conversation.” At last Kendall does just that: she rips off her wig, wipes away her lipstick and leaps into the streets for the ad’s tone-deaf pièce de résistance: she cracks open an ice cold can of Pepsi and hands it to a stone faced policeman who doesn’t arrest her or beat the living daylights out of her but instead, takes a sip of soda and flashes us a smile. The crowd goes wild.

The Internet, meanwhile, is going wild too: with unadulterated laughter and rage. Nobody, it appears, likes the ad. And who would? It’s corny and it’s crass, considering the fact that Black Lives Matter activists have tried to mollify police officers with refreshments in the past — albeit, unlike Jenner, to no avail. The ad looks like its stated purpose is to troll social justice savvy millennials. Remarkably, it isn’t. In the words of Pepsi itself, in a statement made prior the company’s apology for “missing the mark”:

“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.”

It’s also, usually, a hugely popular message. Which is why as corny and crass as the ad may be, the angry shock upon its release is a little confounding.

The question we should be asking ourselves isn’t “why on earth would a major corporation appropriate the Black Lives Matter movement or the women’s march on Washington?” — but “why on earth wouldn’t it?”

After all, millennials, the target audience of the ad, tend to respond quite well to corporate branding tinted with social justice themes. If you don’t believe me, let’s take a walk down advertising memory lane. Here’s Cosmopolitan last year: “H&M’s new campaign is the feminist advert we all need in our lives . . . YAS!”

The H&M ad Cosmo refers to isn’t so dissimilar from Pepsi’s Kendall Jenner spot. It plays on themes of inclusion, diversity and body positivity (it features women of all different shapes and colours coming together for a common cause) and it promotes a brand that, like Pepsi, has been accused of using suppliers that violate human rights. And yet, the ad’s release inspired not rage or charges of hypocrisy, but fawning commentary about the brand’s ode to intersectional feminism.

Moving on, here’s the Huffington Post in 2015: “Sweet Wells Fargo Ad Features Lesbian Couple Learning Sign Language for Their Daughter.” Here’s Buzzfeed: “Trans Teen Jazz Jennings is the New Clean & Clear Campaign Girl *confetti emoji*.” Here’s Buzzfeed again: “Audi’s empowering ‘Daughter’ ad promoted equal pay for women.” From Slate: “Gay Dads Kordale and Kaleb Featured in Gorgeous Nikon Ad.” And here’s Teen Vogue praising Coca Cola’s recent revival of its 2014 Super Bowl ad which features a diverse group of people singing “America the Beautiful”: “It takes new resonance today, as some people may be feeling particularly fearful or marginalized right now simply because of their identities.” In similar fashion, Elle Magazine (which just published a column excoriating the Pepsi spot) had nothing but nice things to say about a Coca Cola ad from 2014 that featured a gay couple.

Is it any wonder then, why Pepsi took the social justice theme and pumped it full of steroids? Lefty lifestyle publications, arguably the prime news source of people under 30, love giving corporations a resounding pat on the back every time they do something mildly inclusive.

Unfortunately for Pepsi, the key word here is “mildly.” The ads listed above, succeeded with their target audience, I suspect, because they were understated and personal. Show us a pair of gay dads doing their daughters’ hair, or a teenage girl looking in the mirror and loving what she sees, and we are touched, inspired, elated. But show us a generic “peace” protest with Kendall Jenner at the helm and we are keeling over in embarrassment.

And yet, we have no right to be embarrassed with anyone but ourselves.

This is a circumstance of our own making: if we don’t like corporations piggybacking on our activism with tacky ads, then we have no business showering them with praise when they produce tasteful ads. Ads are ads, they exist to sell us stuff, not to save the world, something we seem to have forgotten and would do well to remember, unless of course, we want to be watching watered down versions of Kendall Jenner’s Pepsi spot until the end of time.