Pepsi brings back vintage Madonna, Britney Spears ads for MTV’s Video Music Awards

As it highlights its legacy in pop music, Pepsi is reviving some of its classic music video commercials, with iconic spots starring Britney Spears and Madonna making a return to national TV as part of MTV’s Video Music Awards show on Sept. 12. Ad Age A-List & Creativity Awards Final deadline approaching for annual program Enter here The revival comes as Pepsi celebrates its 125th anniversary, and while it rolls out a new logo and visual identity. The new branding now anchors the revived music video commercials in the intro and end cards of each spot. Related: Pepsi’s CMO on the new logo and more The original Madonna “Like A Prayer” and Spears “The Joy of Cola” ads have not been aired on national TV in full since their original runs, more than 30 and 20 years ago, respectively. The remastered videos include new slogans: For Madonna, “Cheers for disrupting the status quo;” for Spears, “Cheers to Britney, always iconic.” Pepsi has also remastered other classic music ads, including Tina Turner’s “Taste For Pepsi” (1986); Robert Palmer’s “Simply Irresistible” (1989); and Ray Charles’ “The Right One Baby” (1991). These versions will be published on Pepsi's YouTube channel. The videos represent only a portion of Pepsi’s music legacy; Michael Jackson, for example, is notably missing. Pepsi has a long history at the VMAs, including in 2021 when it premiered the Pepsi-Cola Soda Shop music video starring Doja Cat, inspired by the film “Grease.” “Over the years, Pepsi has clearly established itself as an innovative brand with a deep heritage of ‘firsts’ in music—from inventing the first-ever marketing jingle, to being the first brand to turn commercials into music videos,” Todd Kaplan, chief marketing officer of Pepsi, said in a press release. “So, as we celebrate Pepsi’s 125th birthday, it is only fitting that we partner with the MTV Video Music Awards to celebrate some of the most iconic Pepsi music videos from our past.”

Pepsi brings back vintage Madonna, Britney Spears ads for MTV’s Video Music Awards

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