Beyonce and husband Jay-Z partied it up at the Art Basel festival in Miami this weekend celebrating some of the word’s leading contemporary art.
Hip-hop’s reigning couple was spotted at The Standard Hotel screening “The Wrinkles of the City, Havana, Cuba” project by artists JoseParla & JR.
Beyonce used the event to debut a new look, rocking blond bangs and a festive printed jumpsuit.
The Art Basel appearance marks only one happy event for the singer this week, who just landed a new $50 million deal with Pepsi. Details of the deal are starting to emerge, and this Beyonce-Pepsi partnership is no standard celebrity endorsement, but rather a full throttle business collaboration.
The $50 million deal will include typical channels of advertising like commercials and print ads. In addition, Pepsi has also pledged a multimillion-dollar “creative content development fund” to support Beyonce’s artistic endeavors.
“Consumers are seeking a much greater authenticity in marketing from the brands they love,” argued Brad Jakeman, president of PepsiCo’s global beverage group. “It’s caused a shift in the way we think about deals with artists, from a transactional deal to a mutually beneficial collaboration.”
Even by calling pop stars “artists” Pepsi has ushered in a new era of marketing, moving away from the saccharine ads that have dominated their campaigns since the early 2000s, featuring Beyonce and Britney Spears, among others.
It seems that Pepsi and Beyonce have reached this deal with similar goals of brand evolution. “Pepsi embraces creativity and understands that artists evolve,” Beyonce said in a statement. “As a businesswoman, this allows me to work with a lifestyle brand with no compromise and without sacrificing my creativity.”
Like Pepsi wants to change its image with consumers, Beyonce’s statement captures much of the artistic evolution she is undergoing as she prepares for her much-hyped HBO documentary and new album, both due in early 2013. The documentary teaser, released last week, features a voiceover from Beyonce, who admits she battles the question of “How much do I reveal about myself?”
The documentary will show Beyonce in public and intimate moments, and will profile the star from her childhood in Houston, TX through her recording career, marriage to mogul Jay-Z and most recently–the birth of their daughter, Blue Ivy Carter. Beyonce’s first Pepsi ad campaign will be strategically timed to coincide with the Feb. 16 release of the HBO documentary and her SuperBowl halftime show performance on Feb. 3.
Pepsi will also release limited-edition Pepsi cans featuring Beyonce’s face, which will first debut in Europe around March.
Beyonce and Jay-Z at Art Basel photos
