Madonna reflects on her banned Pepsi commercial which celebrated the release of "Like A Prayer"

In honor of its 125th birthday, Pepsi will celebrate its iconic history where it has lived at the centre of pop culture – in sports, music, and entertainment – and look ahead to the brand's next 125 years.

Over the course of the 125 days leading up to New Year's Eve, the brand will launch 125 various types of programming including immersive events, social content moments and giveaways. Each touchpoint and its corresponding programming will revisit and reimagine the impactful and culture-driving moments fans have cherished throughout the brand's rich history.

Yesterday, during the MTV VMAs, Pepsi revived some of the brand's most famed music video-style adverts. The re-released versions of archival commercials pay tribute to music legends Madonna, Britney Spears, Tina Turner, Robert Palmer, and Ray Charles, each of whom has played a major role in shaping the brand's legacy as one of the first brands in advertising history to release music videos.

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The original spots of Madonna's "Like A Prayer" and Spears' "The Joy of Cola" have not been aired on national television in full since their original runs, over 30 and 20 years ago, respectively, making the 2023 VMAs the perfect stage for Pepsi to re-debut them.

Posting a snippet of the video on her socials, Madonna thanked Pepsi for "finally realising the genius" of their collaboration.

"34 years ago I made a commercial with Pepsi to celebrate the release of my song Like a Prayer. The commercial was immediately canceled when I refused to change any scenes in the video where I was kissing a black saint or burning crosses," she wrote. "So began my illustrious career as an artist refusing to compromise my artistic integrity...Artists are here to disturb the peace."