Madonna’s Historic Partnership with Pepsi and Controversial ‘Like a Prayer’ Era
Madonna’s divorce from Sean Penn was officially settled on January 25, 1989, coincidentally, the very day when Pepsi unveiled an extraordinary partnership with her. Under this groundbreaking agreement, Madonna would debut her new single, “Like a Prayer,” during a Pepsi commercial in exchange for a remarkable $5 million and Pepsi’s backing for her upcoming tour. This advertisement marked a historic moment as it was the first instance of a record premiering within a commercial and the first time a TV commercial received a global launch.
Pepsi proudly announced that it would reach viewers in approximately forty countries, encompassing nearly every television set on Earth, with an estimated audience of 250 million people. Madonna’s manager, Freddy DeMann, likened the marketing campaign surrounding the record and the commercial to a major event, akin to the release of a new Star Wars film.
By 1989, commercials and advertisements featuring celebrities and their creative works had become significant cultural phenomena. Icons like Andy Warhol and Keith Haring contributed artwork for Absolut Vodka ads, Spike Lee crafted an advertisement featuring Michael Jordan for Nike, and even legendary musicians like Miles Davis and Lou Reed appeared individually in Honda scooter commercials. However, no industry relied more on celebrity endorsements than the soft drink sector.
In a nation where people consumed more soda per capita than water, famous personalities played a crucial role in fostering brand loyalty, particularly among the lucrative teenage demographic, which represented a multi-billion-dollar market growth annually. Pepsi and Coca-Cola were locked in a fierce and widely publicized “cola war,” competing not only with their beverages but also with their advertising budgets. As a result, they both sought to attract more prominent and influential celebrities to their cause.
Since 1984, Pepsi had prominently featured entertainers in its advertisements, including the likes of Michael Jackson, Tina Turner, David Bowie, Lionel Richie, and the Miami Sound Machine. However, in 1985, Pepsi considered featuring Madonna in their ads. Still, this plan was derailed by a scandal when Playboy and Penthouse published nude photos of a young Madonna, deeming her too controversial at the time. However, by late 1988, Pepsi decided to embrace controversy and considered Madonna a must-have for their campaign.
At the same time, rival Coca-Cola had signed George Michael for a Diet Coke commercial directed by Stephen Frears. In response, Pepsi saw Madonna as the perfect retort. Releasing her new song during a commercial was a risky move on several levels, particularly because it bypassed the crucial radio market. Tom Ruffino from Warner Records initially questioned if Madonna was really participating in this endeavor. However, he soon realized that Madonna was exceptionally attuned to her career and strategically saw this commercial as a way to achieve immediate recognition for her new record among millions of people.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, She defended her decision, arguing that making a music video was essentially a form of commercial promotion. She emphasized that record companies often lacked the financial resources to support this kind of publicity. Additionally, she embraced the concept of merging art and commerce, believing that it made art more accessible and elevated commerce.
The director of the Pepsi commercial was Joe Pytka, known for his notable work on public service ads like “This Is Your Brain on Drugs,” which featured a memorable egg and frying pan analogy. She initially had reservations about working with Pytka until he brought choreographer Vincent Paterson onto the project.
In a documentary titled “Vincent Paterson—The Man Behind the Throne,” Pytka recounted Madonna’s initial reluctance to sing or dance in the Pepsi ad, even though it wasn’t a contractual requirement. However, after witnessing Paterson rehearsing with other dancers on set, She decided to join in the dancing herself. This introduction was pivotal in Madonna’s career, as Paterson would go on to choreograph many of her iconic performances, from music videos like “Vogue” and “Express Yourself” to her Blond Ambition tour and parts of the film “Evita.”
Madonna and Vincent Paterson shared not only artistic compatibility but also similar backgrounds. Both were raised in conservative households with strong Catholic influences, which played a role in shaping their sense of theatricality. They both hailed from mixed-race neighborhoods, with Paterson learning to dance on the streets. Additionally, they drew inspiration from old films, fashion, and photography, and both thrived on collaborative work.
The Pepsi commercial’s storyline ingeniously blended elements of the past and present: a woman haunted by her history and a child dreaming of her future. The segment commenced with black-and-white, home-movie-style footage of young Madonna (portrayed by eight-year-old Heidi Marshall), accompanied by Madonna’s voice singing the opening lines of “Like a Prayer.” As the narrative unfolded, the past transitioned into the present, with the young Madonna in awe of the mature Madonna showcased on TV, confidently dancing in various settings, including the street, a diner, and a club.
Mature Madonna also engaged with children in a Catholic school and a bustling church, where both the congregation and choir elevated her song to heavenly heights. The commercial concluded with the adult Madonna holding a Pepsi can and the young Madonna holding a vintage Pepsi bottle, with the older Madonna encouraging the younger version to “Go ahead, make a wish.” This symbolized Madonna’s message to her younger self to be courageous and follow her dreams.
Although Madonna was the star of the commercial, Paterson seamlessly integrated her into the diverse crowds she danced with, resulting in a commercial that felt like a generous celebration of everyone involved. Paterson’s approach was influenced by Madonna’s own inclusivity.
In a memorable episode, Madonna, during a break in shooting, gathered around twenty schoolgirls ranging from seven to thirteen years old, inviting them to a classroom where they talked and bonded. This display of genuine connection and camaraderie added depth to the commercial’s message of unity.
The Pepsi commercial was a beautiful and inspiring production, prompting Pepsi executives to pre-purchase $10 million worth of airtime. However, there was an issue they were unaware of: Madonna had also filmed a separate music video for “Like a Prayer” that would air on MTV. While this video was equally beautiful and inspiring, it proved to be far more controversial than anything Madonna had done up to that point.
In the previous December, She had met with director Mary Lambert and asked her to helm the music video for “Like a Prayer.” Mary, who had previously collaborated with Madonna on “La Isla Bonita” in 1986, had largely shifted her focus to film since then. She had spent much of 1988 directing an adaptation of Stephen King’s “Pet Sematary” in Maine. While her preference was to create a film with a female protagonist, such projects were challenging to secure in the late ’80s. Music videos offered a platform for telling women’s stories through song.
Mary agreed to reunite with Madonna for this project. Their close friendship and mutual trust played a significant role in their decision to collaborate once more. They reminisced about their connection and shared a memorable car ride through Hollywood, listening to “Like a Prayer” on Madonna’s car stereo.
The video for “La Isla Bonita,” their previous collaboration, featured three sets, five hundred extras, and a four-day shoot in downtown Los Angeles. It portrayed a virtuous She longing to be part of the vibrant street life. However, “Like a Prayer” would take a different approach.
This new video would center around choices, specifically the distinction between right and wrong. It explored themes of religious and sexual ecstasy and the idea that one need not choose between them, as both experiences could coexist. The video also delved into the concept of patriarchy and the choices women face in either submitting to or defying it. Mary Lambert explained that their aim was to challenge conventions and explore the uncharted territories of these themes, expecting some controversy but not anticipating its extent.
The song “Like a Prayer” offered various avenues for its visual representation. Still, Madonna’s vision was to infuse it with the ambiance of Los Angeles’ literary and cinematic noir tradition and employ religious symbolism to address issues of racism and bigotry, which were making headlines at the time.
In South Central, during that April, the LAPD’s aggressive anti-drug program escalated into a military-style campaign, indiscriminately arresting individuals, using force against suspects, and even destroying homes, regardless of whether they were involved in drug-related activities. In New York, police brutality against Black people was widespread, prompting Harlem minister Reverend Lawrence Lucas to label the city as the “most polarized” and “racist” in America.
Madonna’s video sought to shed light on these racial tensions and the responsibility of individuals to confront racism wherever they encountered it. Both Madonna and director Spike Lee, who was working on “Do the Right Thing” in Bedford-Stuyvesant at the time, used music to address these issues. Madonna chose her own song, while Lee selected Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power,” with Public Enemy being known as the “world’s most dangerous band.”
In an interview with Interview magazine, Madonna praised Public Enemy, appreciating their willingness to address important issues. She regarded Spike Lee in a similar light, seeing him as a hero. These themes of racial awareness and responsibility were in the air as Madonna worked on “Like a Prayer.”
The video told a straightforward yet powerful story of moral awakening through spiritual experience. Madonna portrayed a woman who witnesses a group of white men assaulting a white woman but is too afraid to intervene. Instead, she watches as a Black man comes to the victim’s rescue. The police arrest the Good Samaritan, and Madonna’s character, seeking refuge in a church, prays to a statue of a Black saint that resembles the man she saw being unjustly arrested. She believes she sees tears in the statue’s eyes.
As Madonna lies on a church pew, she enters a dream where she begins to fall through space, saved by a strong woman who sends her back to the clouds and encourages her to do what is right. In her dream, religious and erotic feelings merge as the saintly statue transforms into a man, and Madonna cuts her hands with a knife. This act symbolizes the guilt associated with Catholicism: the notion that pleasure is followed by punishment.
The video climaxes with Madonna experiencing a fusion of religious and sexual ecstasy, underscored by the choir’s music. She awakens, empowered and determined to speak out about what she witnessed, ultimately leading to the release of the innocent man. The entire cast takes a bow, emphasizing that the story belongs not to a single character but to everyone. Each person has a role in ensuring that goodness and love prevail over evil and hatred, conveying Madonna’s provocative message.
The video’s shocking imagery, including dancing in front of burning crosses while wearing a slip, stirred controversy. Mary Lambert explained that the use of the burning cross aimed to force people to confront the image of racial hatred that she had grown up with in Arkansas. Additionally, the image of Her humbling herself by kissing the feet of the statue and the saint coming to life in her dream, returning her kiss, further fueled the controversy. Critics, though often silent on the matter, were likely incensed by the fact that the saint was portrayed as Black.
Veteran music writer Greil Marcus, in the documentary “Madonna—Behind the American Dream” (1990), described the video as “blasphemy on about ten levels at once.” He noted the interracial sex, the union between a woman and a Black saint, and questioned whether the figure was a saint or possibly even Jesus.
Madonna’s embrace of Black culture and her willingness to address racial issues weren’t just controversial among white audiences. Prominent Black feminist bell hooks criticized Madonna for what she saw as the appropriation and commodification of Black culture. She believed that Madonna’s use of Black people in the video was exploitative, accusing the woman who catches Madonna as she falls of being a “modern mammy” and likening the choir to the “singing black slaves in the great plantation movies.” However, hooks acknowledged that she was speaking from an older generation’s perspective and recognized that younger Black women were staunch Her fans.
To these younger women, She was a source of inspiration. In the book “Madonna and Me,” author Joshunda Sanders explained how Madonna challenged the notion that white women should distance themselves from Blackness. Madonna’s willingness to engage with Black culture in a time when it wasn’t yet trendy set the stage for a new generation of women, both celebrities and everyday individuals, to express themselves beyond the confines of racial categorization.
Religion was another focal point of controversy in the video, although Madonna’s interest in it was genuine and deep-rooted. She acknowledged that her Catholic upbringing formed the foundation of her current beliefs and practices. Despite her criticisms of the Church, she maintained a continuous connection to her faith, praying frequently in times of trouble or happiness. The Church held significant personal significance for Madonna. It was where she first experienced feelings of sexuality and eroticism, as well as where she first encountered art. These elements converged in her music video. The video’s depiction of She bore a striking resemblance to the woman behind the artist, Madonna Ciccone, rather than the superstar Madonna.
In conclusion, Madonna’s Pepsi commercial and the accompanying music video for “Like a Prayer” marked a significant confluence of art, race, and religion. The controversy surrounding these works was not only rooted in their artistic and thematic boldness but also in Madonna’s willingness to challenge conventions and tackle sensitive social issues. While these productions faced criticism from various quarters, they also inspired and resonated with a new generation of individuals who appreciated Madonna’s fearless approach to art and cultural exploration.