Pepsi Will Roll out a Limited Edition Can Featuring Michael Jackson

Pepsi has announced it’s developing a limited edition package featuring Michael Jackson to pay tribute to the pop icon and the 25th anniversary of the ‘Bad’ album, which was released on August 31, 1987.


Photo: Michael Jackson in the Pepsi ad, from famous1.all.co.uk

According to Creativity Online, the brand is working with Michael Jackson’s estate to create the package; a 16 oz. can. The limited edition Pepsi priced at 99 cents will hit the stores around Memorial Day. The can is expected to feature an image of Jackson dancing on a blue background.

With this can, Pepsi commemorates the legendary singer and their collaboration that started in 1984 with Jackson featuring in the ‘New Generation’ campaign infamous for singer’s hair caught fire during a commercial shoot. Then, Jackson appeared in other Pepsi commercials performing versions of his pop hits such as ‘Billie Jean’ and ‘Bad’.

Pepsi also sponsored the 1988 Bad World Tour. The tour included 123 concerts in 15 countries during 16 months. It was attended by 4.4 million people proving to be the largest grossing tour in history and the most attended tour.

Pepsi’s collaboration with musicians has been lasting for many years but became a special focus in 2011. The company invested $60 million into a sponsorship of Simon Cowell’s music competition ‘X Factor,’ and featured the show’s winner, Melanie Amaro, in a Super Bowl spot. The tagline of the campaign was ‘Where there’s Pepsi, there’s music.’ Last week, Pepsi also confirmed to Ad Age that singer Nicki Minaj would appear in a new global campaign for the brand.