If you’ve always thought Britney Spears was ahead of her time, here’s your chance to take a backwards glance at the pop princess as she would have appeared at the height of the doo-wop explosion, the ’60s beach-blanket blitz and the psychedelic Flower Power era. Britney Spears will reprise her role as Pepsi pitchwoman in commercial breaks during Sunday’s Super Bowl, according to a spokesperson for the soft-drink company. Spears will perform her renditions of Pepsi jingles past and present in “Now and Then,” a 90-second spot that revisits the company’s ad themes of the past five decades, including the late ’50s dance craze and sleek ’80s chic. The commercial is scheduled to premiere during the second commercial break of the first quarter of Super Bowl XXXVI, which takes place on February 3.
Fans can select the ad’s encore beginning Monday (January 28). Britney’s three favorite eras – “Doo Wop,” “Surf’s Up” and “New Millennium” – are competing for 30 seconds of airtime during the game’s second quarter. Voting, which is taking place at pepsi.yahoo.com/britney, ends at midnight on Friday (February 1).
An online sweepstakes and charity auction offering props and costumes from these commercials and Spears’ first Pepsi ad is being held in tandem with the new campaign. “Now and Then” memorabilia will hit the auction block at halftime with proceeds benefiting the Britney Spears Foundation.
Commercial veteran Joe Pytka, who directed the “Now and Then” campaign, helmed music videos for the Beatles’ “Free as a Bird,” John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s “(Just Like) Starting Over” and Seal’s “Fly Like an Eagle” from the movie “Space Jam,” which he also directed.
