MJ and Commercials

The King of Pop has passed on.

In an eerie coincidence, we at ihaveanidea were discussing this Michael Jackson Pepsi spot earlier this afternoon, mere hours before hearing about the untimely death of Michael Jackson. For you youngins out there, the boy in the red jacket is Alfonso Ribeiro, AKA Carlton Banks from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

MJ’s music videos weren’t only thing that could stretch to epic lengths. Here’s  multi-part Pepsi spot.

Still going strong with Pepsi during the Dangerous era.

Michael Jordan wasn’t the only famous MJ with his own shoe. Jackson had his own LA Gears. I remember when they came out. The shoes were pretty ugly, but the ad was cool.

And which huge celebrity hasn’t done an ad in Japan? Here’s Michael in a 1982 spot for the Suzuki CL50 Love.

And although he’s not in it personally, who can forget the Michael Jackson doll? My sister had one, and we would — um, I mean she would play with it for hours. He made an excellent lead singer for Barbie & The Rockers.

Worth mentioning, but obviously not shown, is the January, 1984 incident, when while filming one of his many Pepsi commercials, pyrotechnics set MJ’s hair on fire, leaving him with second degree scalp burns and an out of court settlement with Pepsi. Despite these events, Michael continued to have a long, prosperous and globe-spanning partnership with the soft drink giant.

RIP Mr. Jackson. Whether people love you or hate you, you were — without a doubt — “the choice of my generation.”