How Kim Kardashian Turned Her Bar Exam Failure Into an Energy Drink Ad

Kardashian was among the applicants who did not pass California's July 2025 bar exam. The State Bar of California said 54.8% of the 7,362 people who took the test passed. She previously passed the "baby bar," or the first-year law students' examination, in 2021 after three failed attempts. "Six years into this law journey, and I'm still all in until I pass the bar," she wrote on Instagram after the July result.

Kardashian is not the first to turn a setback into a marketing pitch. Astronomer hired Gwyneth Paltrow after its CEO resigned following a viral Coldplay kiss cam moment. Burger King ran a self-deprecating Oscars ad acknowledging slow service. The Update ad takes a similar approach.

Update did not respond to a request for comment. Kardashian's net worth is about $1.9 billion, Forbes estimates, mostly from her shapewear brand Skims. She also runs a skincare line and a private-equity investing firm.