Michael Jackson appeared in Pepsi’s 1984 television commercial that used the song “Billie Jean.”
The commercial formed part of Pepsi’s major partnership with Jackson, one of the most prominent celebrity advertising deals of the 1980s. Jackson and his brothers were featured in a Pepsi campaign built around a reworked version of “Billie Jean,” with the lyrics adapted to promote the brand.
During filming of a later commercial in 1984, Jackson’s hair caught fire after a pyrotechnic effect went wrong. He suffered burns and was treated at a hospital, while the incident became a widely reported part of the campaign’s history. Pepsi subsequently made a settlement related to the accident.
The advertisement is sometimes confused with Pepsi’s later commercials featuring other musicians, including Madonna and Britney Spears. The 1984 “Billie Jean” campaign is specifically associated with Michael Jackson and helped define the era of celebrity-centered soft-drink advertising.