Beyoncé and Pepsi Ink $50 Million Endorsement Deal

Beyoncé at a Pepsi photo shoot in October. The images will appear early next year as life-size cardboard cutouts in stores.

Singer Beyoncé Knowles and Pepsi have agreed to a $50 million endorsement deal, according to the New York Times.  The agreement includes promotional appearances, a new commercial and an investment into a few of Beyoncé’s creative projects.

“Pepsi embraces creativity and understands that artists evolve,” Beyoncé said in a statement. “As a businesswoman, this allows me to work with a lifestyle brand with no compromise and without sacrificing my creativity.”

Pepsi’s move to invest in Beyoncé is a trend beginning to spread across the industry as advertisers seek to penetrate the music business with labels’ marketing budgets declining across the board.

The Beyoncé and Pepsi partnership will include a blitz of promotion for her next album, expected to be released in 2013.

“Consumers are seeking a much greater authenticity in marketing from the brands they love,” said Brad Jakeman, president of PepsiCo’s global beverage group. “It’s caused a shift in the way we think about deals with artists, from a transactional deal to a mutually beneficial collaboration.”

Beyoncé has been involved with the brand since 2002 and will appear in a new TV spot for Pepsi, appear on limited edition of Pepsi cans and will be a headline performer for the 2013 Super Bowl halftime show, sponsored by the soft drink giant.

article by Marquise Francis via thegrio.com