Pepsi King of Pop series climaxes in MoBay

Sheena Gayle, Gleaner Writer

Western Bureau:

Not many Michael Jackson look-alike costumes at Margaritaville on Saturday. No problem, as avid fans of his music and partygoers revelled in the celebration of the musician's 25th anniversary of his Bad album, courtesy of Pepsi-Cola Jamaica.

Fresh off its successes in Kingston and Ocho Rios, the Pepsi King of Pop Party series offered patrons in western Jamaica a unique opportunity to have the MJ experience that has helped to make the islandwide event a success.

According to Carlo Redwood, marketing manager of Pepsi Jamaica, "The party series was more successful than we initially thought. The third leg of the event ended in Montego Bay and the support has been tremendous since we started the Pepsi King of Pop campaign. The massive crowd at Margaritaville was no different. Jamaicans love to party and the atmosphere was just great in Montego Bay."

Among those who helped locals to have a great time over the weekend was in-house DJ Blu representing Montego Bay. His early mixes injected high energy to the event and set the tone for the night. DJ Nicco and DJ Sanjay out of Kingston did well with their Michael Jackson remixes that had many trying to moonwalk and dance like the late King of Pop.

Discounts on general admissions were awarded to persons who dressed like Michael Jackson, they paid $250 to enter the venue. General admission cost $500 and, as part of the value-added experience, partygoers could drink free Pepsi mixes up until 12 a.m.

Other locations that hosted the party series were Club Privilege in Kingston and Margaritaville in Ocho Rios. The Pepsi King of Pop event in Jamaica began at this year's staging of Reggae Sumfest and climaxed with the party series.

"This was a comprehensive campaign that included the Pepsi King of Pop parties, Tastee Limited and supermarkets. We wanted to spread the celebration as wide as possible so that persons who would be at the parties still had a chance to be a part of the experience through prizes they would have won. The Tastee promotion was a huge success, persons won limited edition Michael Jackson products and other prizes, so it went well," Redwood added.