LL Cool J will pay tribute to rap/hip-hop pioneers Run-DMC in a new Dr. Pepper television commercial that is set to debut during the NFL conference championships during the weekend of January 18 and 19. The ad is one of three 30-second "Be You" tribute commercials set to air in early January. Individuality, originality, and personality are the themes of all of the ads.

The commercial was filmed prior to the October 30 murder of group member Jam Master Jay (Jason Mizell). Jam Master Jay is specifically mentioned in the Dr. Pepper commercial lyrics. In addition a brief memorial to Jam Master Jay will appear at the end of the spot for six to eight weeks after its premiere.

"After some deep thought and discussion about how appropriate it would be to air this commercial, the surviving members of Run-DMC, as well as members of Jason Mizell's family, felt it would be a fitting tribute," said John Clarke, the chief advertising officer of Dr. Pepper/7 UP. "Like Dr. Pepper, Run-DMC and Jason Mizell were one-of-a-kind," he added.

"We were deeply saddened to hear of Jay's tragic death," explained Clarke. "Early in the planning process we began discussing which music 'originals' we wanted to celebrate in this campaign. Run-DMC surfaced as the obvious and undisputed pioneer of the hip-hop sound. We believe this tribute spot has even more meaning now for Jam Master Jay and Run-DMC fans, as well as the entire hip-hop fan and artist community."

The other two spots include pop singer Anastacia's tribute to '80s pop queen Cyndi Lauper, and Mexican singing sensation Paulina Rubio's tribute to the "Queen of Salsa," Celia Cruz. All of the commercials were produced by Young and Rubicam New York.

Source: Launch