The Reason Janet Jackson Lost Her Coca-Cola Deal
Coca-Cola has a long history with celebrities and has often relied on stars to highlight its products. Back in 2003, the company collaborated with actors Penelope Cruz, Courtney Cox Arquette, and singer Mya for a unique campaign to appeal to younger customers (via NBC News). The idea was to demonstrate that celebrities aren't all that different from the rest of us. In one of the campaign commercials, Cruz finishes off a full bottle of Coke before burping loudly and grinning in front of other diners at the restaurant.
In 2014, Coca-Cola worked with Taylor Swift to promote Diet Coke. The singer was seen drinking a bottle of Diet Coke in the commercial that also featured a cat, per Entertainment Weekly. As Swift continued to enjoy the beverage, she noticed that the cat began "to multiply" and before she knew it, she was happily surrounded by an extraordinary number of adorable cats. The tagline was simple — "What if life tasted as good as Diet Coke?"
Turns out the queen of pop, Janet Jackson, was also scheduled to work with Coca-Cola several years ago, but had to let the opportunity go (per Pop Sugar). The singer spoke up about the failed collaboration in her recent documentary, "Janet Jackson."
How Michael Jackson was involved in the failed Coke collaboration
According to Pop Sugar, Janet Jackson "lost out" on a collaboration with Coca-Cola after her brother, Michael was accused of molesting children. She did stand by her brother despite the allegations, and stated in the documentary, "My brother would never do something like that." She also said that the entire family spent time at Neverland Ranch to be around him during the turbulent period.
Per Buzzfeed News, Coca-Cola chose to back out of the deal when the allegations against Michael surfaced — the endorsement would have been the biggest one of her career at that time, but it was over before it even began. She reflected on the incident in the documentary and said, "When that [the accusations] came out, Coca-Cola said, 'No, thank you.' Guilty by association. That's what they call it, right?"
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