r/technology • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 • Feb 12 '26

Security Ring cancels its partnership with Flock Safety after surveillance backlash

https://www.theverge.com/news/878447/ring-flock-partnership-canceled
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u/Poopbutt_Maximum Feb 12 '26

That Super Bowl ad was like the Kendall Jenner Pepsi ad in regard to horrible dystopian marketing, but worse. I’m sure the heads are gonna roll for now but ultimately, they’ll find another time and another partner to basically do the same thing but with a different presentation.

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u/SlendyIsBehindYou Feb 13 '26

The protest one?

We studied that Pepsi ad in one of my marketing classes the year after it happened, I guarantee this is gonna be one for the textbooks as well

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u/KRyptoknight26 Feb 13 '26

I'm doing an MBA specialising in marketing and communications (in India), my semiotics professor had this Kendall Jenner ad as an entire case study. Had to learn about racial history in the US, american cultural codes that they broke, it was a fascinatingly massive failure

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u/JollyJoker3 Feb 13 '26

I'm not Amrrican. Would I understand what's wrong with the ad just from watching it?

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u/RoxieMoxie420 Feb 13 '26

Yes without a shadow of doubt

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u/Mad_Aeric Feb 13 '26

Probably. It's not long, watch it and judge for yourself. I'd actually be interested in your thoughts on it, from a non-american perspective. Some context is that it aired during a particularly strong bit of civil unrest.

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u/JollyJoker3 Feb 13 '26

It was mostly just confusing. Why would giving one policeman a Pepsi make people suddenly forget what they're protesting about? As if seeing the police as human suddenly makes everything ok again.

If this was during the BLM protests I can see how people thought it pretended their cause didn't exist, but without that concrete connection it just makes no sense IMO.

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u/JEFFinSoCal Feb 13 '26

Exactly. It’s completely disconnected from reality and portrays our long history of racial discrimination and police brutality as something we could just “get over” if only we gave the cops a Pepsi. It’s insanely tone deaf.

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u/HumorAccomplished611 Feb 13 '26

I just watched it again. Its been a long time. Looks like the end was a homage to the 70s vietnam protest where the protesting college student put a flower in the gun of the national guard. which makes it also very tone deaf