San Francisco Police Mull Lawsuit over Pepsi’s Kendall Jenner Ad

Pepsi’s woes over a badly-received, social justice-themed Kendall Jenner TV commercial are continuing as the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) is reportedly considering suing the soft drink giant over the faux police patches worn by actors in the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nES–R1qI_k

SFPD officials feel that the sleeve patches Pepsi created for its police officers look too close to the actual patches worn by real officers in the City by the Bay.

Indeed, the only real difference between the patches created for the ad and the real police patches is the color scheme. On the city’s arm patch, the eagle is yellow-and-brown, while the Pepsi version is green-and-white. Also, the real patch has a light blue background while the Pepsi version has a darker blue.

But the rest of the patch Pepsi created is extremely similar to the real patches. Both patches even have “San Francisco Police” written in similar styles, though the colors differ.

Above all, the SFPD feels that the patches are so similar that it might cause people to assume that the department gave its imprimatur to the commercial, TMZ.com reported.

“We’re demanding that Pepsi not run any footage or photos associated with this ad that reference the San Francisco Police Department,” City Attorney Dennis Herrera said in a statement. “If they don’t comply, we will explore all legal options. There is nothing San Franciscan about Pepsi’s ham-handed attempt here to fatten its own bottom line.”

City officials say PepsiCo never contacted them for permission to use a police patch that emulates theirs. The SFPD also said its police patch is proprietary and that Pepsi may have crossed a legal line with its unauthorized close copies.

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com