ICONIC ADS: Pepsi — Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson’s managers approached Jay Coleman, founder/CEO of Entertainment Marketing & Communications International, in 1983, one year after the success of the album Thriller, with the concept of pairing Jackson with a big brand at a firm asking price. Coleman pitched the concept to Coca-Cola first.

“They thought about it, but they couldn’t take that leap of faith,” Coleman adds. “Anything they did with Michael was viewed as a more focused, ethnic effort.” After a $1 million offer from Coca-Cola was turned down, the Jacksons went on to PepsiCo.

PepsiCo and its ad agency, BBDO, were likewise hesitant about the $ 5 million price tag.

Since 1960, BBDO has enjoyed a tremendous connection with Pepsi. Pepsi, on the other hand, had lost part of its hold on its own Pepsi generation by the 1980s. It was time to focus on the next generation — their children and grandchildren.

Roger Enrico (the new President of Pepsi-Cola USA) was thinking about this. He was looking for a huge idea to start his brand’s “New Generation” campaign, which was aimed at youth.

The idea was to make Pepsi look young and Coke look old, and Michael Jackson was the generation’s choice — he was already the King of Pop, even if he hadn’t declared it.

Coleman’s suggestion was too attractive to pass up. He described it as a comprehensive marketing strategy with several touchpoints, including advertising, tour sponsorship, logos on cans, supermarket displays, and PR events.

When an ad firm resorts to celebrity advertising, critics argue, it demonstrates that the agency has run out of ideas. BBDO, on the other hand, had a different plan. Use a celebrity, but not just any celebrity; the largest one we could locate, in a meticulously crafted situation that acts as a mini-movie with a beginning, middle, and end.

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