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| "Never Again Single" an ad from Germany's first online dating service. |
Creative without strategy is called 'art.' Creative with strategy is called 'advertising.' - Jef I. Richards
Kmart "Show Your Joe", featuring Joe Boxer
Always jingle all the way. No one likes a half-assed jingler. - Your Tango
Jingles Part Three
1980's:
Enter Michael Jackson
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Pepsi ad listed on Dangerous Minds
"The Day the Music Died: Vintage Ads of Pop Stars Selling Shit." |
Pepsi and the Jacksons (Michael and brothers) agreed to a $5 million partnership in 1983. The Jacksons had rejected a $1 million deal from Coke and Michael, for the larger contract, offered to re-work "Billie Jean" to peddle Pepsi. Jackson also created the commercial storyline, choreography, and look to mimic his music videos.
The King of Pop pulled off a marketing coup.
Pesi market shares increased and they gained on Coke. Pepsi doubled the $5 million deal and sponsored Jackson's international "Bad" album tour.
"You couldn't separate the tour from the endorsement from the licensing of the music." - Pepsi representative
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| Michael Jackson in concert demonstrating his iconic dance movies |
Hold on to your sparkle glove, because we aren't done with Mr. Jackson.
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| Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson, pulling faces for the camera, London |
In 1983, a 24-year-old Jackson collaborated with a 40-year-old McCartney releasing both the "The Girl Is Mine" (no. 2 on Billboard) and "Say, Say, Say" (no. 1 on Billboard).
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| Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson, at the recording studio, 1983 |
McCartney had lost ownership of the Beatles' hits and was attempting to buy them back. He had purchased the rights to hundreds of other songs and suggested Michael also invest in publishing rights.
Marketing conglomerates started to focus on the Baby Boomers and explored purchasing rights to use prior hits. When the Beatles' music, included in a catalog of 4,000 songs, came up for sale, Jackson made the $47.5 million purchase.
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| A custom Beatles Nike shoe |
In a coup de grâce to Jackson's former friend, Nike was allowed to pay both Capitol Records and Michael Jackson $250,000 in exchange for using an actual recording of The Beatles' "Revolution" in a 1987 commercial.
The surviving Beatles filed a lawsuit and an undisclosed settlement was reached.
(McCartney wasn't aware that Yoko Ono had supported the commercial, believing it was a way to introduce the Beatles to a younger generation.)
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The claymation California Raisins debuted in 1988 singing,
"I Heard It Through the Grapevine". |
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In spite of the payout, Nike "sparked the sellout revolution".
On a side note:
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| Promo photos for "Say, Say, Say." |
Paul McCartney is still trying to obtain the rights to his songs. During an interview with Howard Stern, McCartney said he made attempts to buy back his music at market value but Michael Jackson stopped taking his calls.
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| Michael Jackson at the Equinox Club, London |
In 1995 Jackson, who had amassed a large debt, sold half of the catalog to Sony for $100 million. In 2016, to clear additional estate debt and IRS bills, Sony bought the other half of the catalog for $750,000 million.
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| Beatles Vinyl |
McCartney recently filed a lawsuit against Sony. Copyright law returns the publisher's share of works to the songwriters after a 56 year period. Beatles' songs would be eligible for return starting in 2018.
However, other songwriters have lost similar suits against Sony.
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| Yoko Ono poses with The Beatles before the band broke up in 1970. |
Yoko Ono already made a deal with Sony. Sony will keep John Lennon's share of ownership to 2050.
In 1989, Pepsi paid Madonna $5 million and agreed to sponsor her world tour in exchange for three television ads.
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Madonna in the Pepsi ad "Make a Wish",
as family-friendly as Madonna gets. |
The first ad, "Make A Wish" was an usually family-friendly Madonna romp of "Like a Prayer".
Pepsi made a teaser for the ad which was played during the Grammys.
"No matter where you are in the world on March 2nd, get to a TV and watch Pepsi’s two-minute Madonna commercial featuring her latest release, ‘Like A Prayer'."
Anticipating another Jackson-esque bump in sales, Pepsi was surprised after Madonna's official "Like A Prayer" video played on MTV.
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| Cover of Madonna's 1989 album |
If you aren't familiar, Madonna seeks sanctuary in a church after witnessing a woman being raped and stabbed by a white guy while the police arrest a black guy who attempted to prevent the attack.
Then Catholicism and a racist judicial system sort of meld together with heavy-handed symbolism. The video ends when Madonna decides to go to the police and free the accused.
It doesn't depict the part where the police discredit her testimony and imprison the innocent guy for life.
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| Madonna, "Like a Prayer", 1989 |
Madonna also leaves almost all her clothes on while dancing in front of burning crosses . . .
I would think some conservative groups would approve of that.
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| Maddon and Pepsi |
The Pope banned Madonna from the Vatican and censured the album. Pepsi pulled the ad and dropped the tour sponsorship.
2000's:
15 years later, Pepsi was hitting all the TV ad tropes:
Say them with me.
Huge and expensive pop star talent?
Quadruple check (even if Enrique doesn't make a vocal contribution).
Set, costuming, effects, and filming on par with a big production?
Wouldn't hold up to "Inception" but better than "Water World."
Sex appeal?
Well, their costumes certainly aren't for serious gladiator activities.
Obsequious appeal to adolescent angst and rebellion?
Doesn't get much more angsty.
Acquisition of a hugely popular song, placed in a context where it drives the narrative?
I would say that is a question for Queen.
Heavy-handed attempt at correlating all of the above with a product having no intrinsic connection?
Big ol' check.
Enough self-importance to release a behind the scenes clip?
YEP.
2010's:
The market for recorded music continued to tank and artists routinely signed large corporate licensing agreements.
Apple became proactive and started to collaborate with talented and relatively unknown musicians.
"Apple has proven that every time an iPod is created, an indie band gets their wings."
And Then . . .
You remember when this happened:
The Pepsi ad titled, "Live for Now Moments Anthem" was viewed 1.6 million times on YouTube within 48 hours of the big debut . . .
and received five times as many downvotes as upvotes. The commercial was pulled.
Martin Luther King's Daughter Responded:
Madonna's Contribution:
"When you wake up and realize that shit just really doesn't make sense! ????#chosen ????Side Note: My Pepsi commercial was pulled 30 years ago because I was kissing a black saint! ???????? #ironic."
The Breitbart Test:
Kendall Jenner Was Nice To A Police Officer In A Pepsi Ad, And The Left Is Mad - Breitbart
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The 2017 Pepsi ad
where an almost Kardashian saves the world
with an almost Coke. |
When Breitbart supports you, it's time to reconsider your choices.
Kendall Responded:
It wasn't so much what she said, but when she said it . . .
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| Kendall Jenner publicity photos for Pepsi. |
which was in October . . .
during the 14th season premiere of "Keeping Up With the Kardashians". . .
six months later.
My favorite response:
(from The Guardian)
"The backlash was swift, furious and witty."
I think that needs to be America's theme in 2018.
"The backlash was swift, furious and witty."
Up Next:
A final observation and proposition for the anti-jingle.
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In Russia, you whistle your own theme music when you walk into a room.
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#Marketing #Sales #Jingles #AmericanDream
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