Pepsi Brings Back ‘King of Pop’ for New Ads

Advertisement

The world’s No.2 beverage company on Thursday announced plans to use images of Michael Jackson in its new global marketing campaign, “Live for Now.”

PepsiCo (NYSE:PEP) has made a deal with the legendary late pop star’s estate to use Jackson’s image for a TV commercial, special edition cans and other ads, The Associated Press reports. Additionally, fans will have opportunities to download remixed versions of some of the King of Pop’s most popular songs.

The global campaign launches next week in the U.S. and China, and the portions with Jackson are slated to coincide with the 25th anniversary of his multi-platinum album, Bad.

The first deal between Pepsi and Jackson formed in 1983, but their partnership hasn’t always been sweet. Many who were close to Jackson believe that burn injuries he suffered during the filming of a 1984 Pepsi commercial led to his addiction to pain killers. Pepsi, however, is hoping that consumers will have pleasant feelings of nostalgia when encountering the ads.

The soda maker needs its new campaign to bubble with success for the company to win back market shares taken by top rival Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO). Coke has been winning both the taste and investor segments of the famous Cola Wars.

In in its first-quarter results released in April, Pepsi reported a 1% volume slip in its Americas beverage business.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2012/05/pepsi-brings-back-king-of-pop-for-new-ads/.

©2024 InvestorPlace Media, LLC