Why Kendall Jenner Haters Think She Was Secretly Promoting Coca-Cola

Plenty of Kendall Jenner conspiracy theorists are convinced that the model spent one of her evenings this week modeling for a Coca-Cola PR stunt staged to look like paparazzi photos — despite the fact that the soda company has denied paying her.

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# Ad? Short-lived Pepsi spokesmodel @kendalljenner made a glamorous bodega run in NYC yesterday to grab a can of Coke. It wasn’t just any Coke though... The most recently launched Orange Vanilla flavor she chose happened to be just a couple Pantone shades away from perfectly matching her dress. Surely enough, images of her with the beverage were soon splashed over the web. Was this color harmony a coincidence or have Jenner and Coca-Cola been scheming to skirt around the FTC’s social media advertising guidelines? 🤔 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 📷: Getty Images ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ H/t: @lexcarthur ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ • #kendall #kendalljenner #kardashian #kuwtk #orange #model #coke #cocacola #orangevanilla #soda #beverage #bodega #matchymatchy #pantone #nyc #paparazzi #wiwt #ootd #dress #slinky #bodycon #tankdress #dietprada

A post shared by Diet Prada ™ (@diet_prada) on Jun 18, 2019 at 6:51pm PDT

The theory came to light after fashion watchdog Diet Prada pointed out that the 23-year-old model made a glamorous bodega run in New York City to grab a single can of Coke's newly-launched Orange Vanilla flavor. While that might seem innocuous enough, plenty of people wondered how coincidental it was that the color of Jenner's fancy evening dress was just a couple Pantone shades away" from perfectly matching the orange flavor.

"Was this color harmony a coincidence or have Jenner and Coca-Cola been scheming to skirt around the FTC's social media advertising guidelines?" Diet Prada wrote in an Instagram post.

Coca-Cola denied to Refinery29 that the photos were part of an ad campaign. "Kendall Jenner is not paid by Coca-Cola and this was not a paid placement. There is nothing better than drinking an ice-cold Coke in the summer and clearly Kendall agrees!" a spokeswoman said.

However, fans weren't totally convinced. The nature of Jenner's upscale attire for a simple bodega run, as well as the way she was angling the can's logo for all to see, had many wondering if it was all a ruse.

"The logo was front [and] center for the [paparazzi] to see," one fan wrote on Instagram.

"Who [the f—] holds a can like that?" another wrote.

"She was 100% paid to do this. Honestly hilarious if people think otherwise..." someone else said.

"The Kardashian machine does nothing by accident," someone wrote.

"Ad for sure," said another.

Others weren't so sure about it.

"Jeeze, can someone enjoy a drink without criticism? Not everything in life is about promoting a product. What if she truly enjoy the drink? If I see someone from Diet Prada eating a banana, then should I assume they are promoting Chiquita? Give the girl a break," one Instagram user said.

"Imagine if she really just really drank the orange vanilla in an orange dress? woAh," someone else said sarcastically.

"What? Is marketing not allowed now?" another wrote.

But one person said what many were thinking: "If this is a PR stunt, it's a damn good one."