Madonna Poised for Big Media Blitz

Madonna is pretty good at generating publicity: A computer search of The Times since Oct. 1 indicated no fewer than 96 separate references to the singer/actress.

But apparently, we haven’t seen anything yet.

The woman who has overturned both pop and fashion convention in the ‘80s will be the center of one of the largest media campaigns ever for a recording artist--a marketing effort that her manager describes as the pop-world equivalent of the launching of a George Lucas film.

The blitz--tied to the March 21 release of her new album--officially begins March 2 with the splashy worldwide premiere of her already ballyhooed 2-minute Pepsi commercial. (A teaser for the spot will air during Wednesday’s Grammy telecast on CBS.)

The spot is a breakthrough in the rapidly growing world of advertainment: the first time a new single is being debuted in nearly its entirety in a commercial that will be seen in virtually every media market around the world. Pepsi Cola Co. spokesman Tod MacKenzie said that the ad will air “all around the globe, all across Europe, the Philippines, Thailand, Japan, in South America, as well as in North America. . . . Just about every TV set on the planet Earth will have that commercial on it.”

Besides a reported $5-million fee from Pepsi, Madonna also gets millions of dollars worth of exposure.

Said her manager, Freddy DeMann, “the reason I wanted to do it was because her base audience is so much broader than what record companies generally approach. . . . No record company would spend the kind of money Pepsi is.”

But does a singer whose last album--1986’s “True Blue”--sold more than 15 million copies really need more exposure?

“You can’t take anything for granted,” DeMann said.

Also on the way:

--All the television and print news/entertainment reporting you can stand. Bob Merlis, Warner Bros. Records vice president and national publicity director, said, “If you have a television set or a radio or record player or go near a newsstand, I can’t believe that you wouldn’t be at least peripherally aware that Madonna has a new album.”

--Fashion statements aplenty. Said DeMann: “She has one look in the video, another in the (Pepsi) spot, a different look today. Blink and she’ll have another look.” (For the record, as of Thursday, Madonna had returned to being blond after a recent stint with her natural brown locks.)

--More movie roles. Apparently the flops of “Shanghai Surprise” and “Who’s That Girl?” haven’t killed Hollywood’s interest in her. Madonna has a featured role in the soon-to-be-released “Bloodhounds of Broadway” and will play nightclub singer/gangster moll Breathless Mahoney in the now-in-production “Dick Tracy.”

--A world concert tour, likely to kick off in the summer or fall. The Pepsi logo will be prominently displayed on T-shirts and in ads--just as on the recent Michael Jackson tour.

Any fear of overkill?

“I think it’s expected today that when someone’s famous, they’re really famous,” Merlis said. “Madonna is a lasting star and people have accepted that she’s one of the major cultural icons of this time.”

But Merlis is concerned about possible backlash from the Pepsi involvement.

“I want to emphasize that the record company is not the handmaiden of the corporate sponsor,” Merlis said. “Our release plans have not been affected by their involvement. We’re incredibly glad for the exposure this will afford, but the single was decided on before they were ever involved. That is not a means to get out the music.”

Not to be overshadowed by all this, Merlis and DeMann hope, is the star and her music.

Added Merlis: “The irony is that the album is very human, shows her as a real person with foibles and emotions. She’s not a god, and that comes across--believe it or not--in the Pepsi commercial.”

Boasted DeMann: “It’s the best album she’s ever done, the first time she’s really opened up to the world, taken her deepest thoughts and translated them for the world.”

GRAMMY BOYCOTT UPDATE: The planned boycott of the Grammy ceremonies by rap-music nominees is starting to look as if it won’t be a case of total solidarity. The boycott was announced last week because the new rap award is not scheduled to be shown as part of Wednesday’s 3-hour telecast.

But nominee Kool Moe Dee this week questioned the motives and effectiveness of the boycott, which was initiated by Rush Artists Management, which represents nominees L. L. Cool J and D. J. Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince. Kool Moe Dee said he is undecided about accepting the Grammy show’s offer to take the presenter’s spot originally offered to Jeff & the Prince.

“I want to know where the strike is coming from,” the rapper said from New York, where he is mixing an upcoming album. “I think it’s better to have someone on (the Grammys program) saying something positive for rap. . . . It seems a perfect way for rappers to show themselves in a different light (than as they are often portrayed in the media).”

As well, Rush management publicist Bill Adler confirmed that L. L. Cool J will not be participating in a boycott press conference planned for Los Angeles on Grammy day. According to Adler, the Rush rapper is tied up with finishing his next album. But Adler also acknowledged that Rush’s stance toward the Grammys has softened somewhat since he first announced the boycott last week.

“I’m not so mad at the Grammys as the Grammy Awards show,” he said, adding that if one of the two Rush nominees wins, the award will be accepted.

LIVE ACTION: Tickets go on sale Sunday for two Universal Amphitheatre shows: Bananarama on April 7 and Mike + the Mechanics on April 26. . . . L.A. rappers Ice-T and NWA share the bill at the Celebrity Theatre on March 17.