Monday, Feb. 06, 1989

Business Notes ADVERTISING

The major career decision for celebrities at the moment is not whether to sell out but which cola to endorse when they do. In the latest episode of their unending battle to top each other, Coca-Cola and Pepsi are offering fees that almost no one can resist. Last week Pepsi announced that the Material Girl, Madonna, has signed up for a one-year global advertising campaign (her estimated fee: almost $10 million). The title song from the singer's new album, Like a Prayer, will debut in March on Pepsi's prime-time television commercials. Pepsi's team has already starred Michael Jackson, Tina Turner, David Bowie and the Miami Sound Machine.

Coca-Cola has not lost its fizz either. In December the company signed teen heartthrob George Michael for a diet Coke commercial, to begin this week, which features music from a previously unreleased single (his fee: a reported $4 million). In the past, Coke has recruited the Pointer Sisters and Whitney Houston. All of which raises a profound question: Which brand would Elvis have chosen?