As you know from our article about the auction coming up in November, few Michael Jackson items are for grab, one is the jacket wore by Michael Jackson for the 1984 Pepsi Commercial: “Next Generation”.
Propstore, the Auction House who will be selling the iconic jacket, has provided more information on the jacket and also few unseen pictures of Michael that we cannot not share them!
Pepsi’s New Generation “Street” music video was released in the United States on March 27, 1984. The Pepsi commercial was filmed soon after the release of Michael Jackson’s Thriller music video and featured the other members of the Jackson 5 as well as a young Alfonso Ribiero.
Although it became most associated with the Pepsi Commercial, Michael was seen wearing his black-and-white zippered leather jacket on multiple occasions prior to the Pepsi video. In John Landis’ “The Making of Thriller” video, shot in October 1983, Michael is shown wearing his jacket during the dance rehearsals and on set. Photographs were also taken of Michael wearing his jacket at a private screening of the Thriller video in Westwood (Los Angeles) on November 21, 1983.
This jacket was gifted by Michael to Wendell Thompson, who became friends with Michael after meeting him at Thompson’s father’s cosmetology salon in December 1980. Michael Jackson continued to visit Orlando on a regular basis to get his hair styled in the evenings and visited with Thompson and his family during his trips, frequenting amusement parks and going to dinner together.
On a visit in early 1984, Michael visited Walt Disney World and went to dinner with Thompson and others including one of the hair stylists from Thompson’s father’s shop. After dinner, when they all returned to his father’s shop, Thompson tried on Michael’s black-and-white zippered jacket. When Thompson took the jacket off to hand it back to Michael, he told him to keep the jacket and explained he had just worn it in a soon to be released Pepsi commercial.
The auction item comes with personal and unseen pictures of Michael and a signed photo of Michael with the following note: “To Wendell, Christopher Columbus found America. I’m glad I found you all. Lots of Love, Michael Jackson,”
And here all the unseen pictures of Michael with the Thompson family and Wendell:
Bidding for the jacket will end on Friday, November 10th. The auction will begin at 3:00PM BST and lots are sold sequentially via live auctioneer; tune in to the live streaming broadcast on auction day to follow the pace. Note other lots in the auction may close on Thursday, November 9th, Saturday, November 11th or Sunday, November 12th. To bid visit Propstore
