Nicki Minaj has closed a multimillion-dollar deal with Pepsi, agreeing to become the face of Pop, a soon-to-be debuted soda. Glu agency chief and former manager of Scott Storch Derek Jackson, who brokered the deal, confirms Minaj will appear in a commercial for the beverage (filmed last month in Argentina), to be aired "probably in the next two months." Pop will compete with Pepsi Next, PepsiCo's new 60 calorie "compromise" soda. In 2011, Minaj was the first woman to land a spot on Forbes' Hip-Hop Cash Kings list, earning $6.5 million.
Jackson also brokered the seven-figure, one-year (with an option for more) deal between Minaj's Young Money/Cash Money labelmate Lil Wayne and Mountain Dew. The just-launched DEWeezy campaign, flaunted in a scripted pitch ("It's not what you do, it's how you do it.") onstage by Wayne at a Young Money showcase last week in Austin, is the rapper's first major endorsement deal. The partnership will see Wayne promoting Mountain Dew in traditional print, TV and digital ads, as well as the building of a skate park in New Orleans. The deal also provides the possibility of Pepsi paying for an original, Wayne-helmed film.
In 2002, Pepsi halted an ad campaign with Ludacris after Bill O' Reilly attacked the rapper, calling him a "dumb idiot." Afterward, faced with a boycott of Pepsi products led by Russell Simmons, Pepsi donated $3 million to charities benefiting the hip-hop community.
Of Cash Money's Pepsi partnerships, Jackson says, "It was just time. I think they saw that–and they were smart enough to say, Let’s get into [this] business and make some things happen.” The label's mega-stars aren't all aligned with Pepsi, though. Drake launched a worldwide campaign with Coke-owned Sprite in 2010.
