Like a Prayer (song)

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Like a Prayer is a 1989 popular song by Madonna from the album of the same name. It reached #1 on charts worldwide, but is best known for the controversy surrounding the accompanying music video and threatened boycotts of PepsiCo which had promoted the song in a commercial (which had nothing to do with the video itself).

Initial deal with PepsiCo[edit]

Prior to the album's release, PepsiCo (manufacturers of the soft drink Pepsi and owners of several fast-food chains) wanted to capitalize on Madonna's rising popularity, and therefore the parties agreed that PepsiCo would sponsor her upcoming concert tour, and agreed to pay a $5M fee for the rights to the song to be featured in an upcoming television commercial. Madonna, meanwhile, wanted to use the commercial to launch the song prior to its global release -- something not done before in the music industry.

The commercial itself was not controversial: it featured adult Madonna watching a video of her childhood birthday party, whereupon in a time-traveling sequence adult Madonna switched places with childhood Madonna (childhood Madonna roams around adult Madonna's house while adult Madonna dances with her childhood friends). As they return to their rightful places in time, adult Madonna tells childhood Madonna "go ahead, make a wish"; both Madonnas raise Pepsi cans to each other as childhood Madonna blows out the candles on her birthday cake.

Pepsi premiered the commercial during the 31st Grammy Awards in February 1989, and played it only one other time: one week later on an episode of the highly popular sitcom The Cosby Show.

Music Video[edit]

The day after the commercial premiered, Madonna released the song's music video on MTV. The video is arguably among the most controversial ever released: Madonna witnesses the assault and murder of a White woman by a group of White men (who menacingly stare at her when they realize they were seen), as well as the subsequent wrongful arrest of a Black man who was on the scene attempting to help the victim (the scene is shot in the American South, bringing back images of the overt racism of the 1950's).

Madonna then flees the scene for a nearby Catholic Church, where she sees a caged statue of a saint resembling the wrongfully arrested Black man and then falls asleep, dreaming she is falling through space before being caught by a woman representing power and strength, who tells her to do what is right. Still dreaming, she returns to the statue, whereupon the Black man/saint kisses her on the forehead before leaving; she accidentally cuts herself with a knife making stigmata on her hands. Other scenes show Madonna dancing wildly in front of burning crosses, more kissing scenes between her and the Black man/saint, and her singing with a gospel choir led by the woman who caught her. Awakening, she goes to the police and gives a statement, whereupon the Black man is released.

Protests[edit]

The controversial aspects of the video (the imagery of racism in the South, the interracial scenes, and the stigmata) led the Vatican and numerous family and religious groups to announce intended boycotts of PepsiCo. The company unsuccessfully tried to explain that they had nothing to do with the video, even explaining differences between it and the commercial, only to eventually give in. They would cancel their campaign, never air the commercial again, and despite having potential legal recourse allowed Madonna to keep the $5M fee.

Ironically, PepsiCo would sponsor the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards, where the video would be nominated in two categories (Viewer's Choice and Video of the Year), winning the latter category. Madonna would "thank" PepsiCo for the "controversy". The video itself is rated among the tops of all time, usually surpassed only by the video for Thriller. She would also perform the song during the Super Bowl XLVI halftime show (though the show is usually sponsored by Pepsi, that year tire manufacturer Bridgestone was the sponsor).