Advertising: Do Top Guns Swig Diet Pop?

No commercials! That has been one of the strongest selling points of movies on video-cassettes. But next week, when the long-awaited home-video version of the blockbuster Top Gun goes on sale, consumers will be surprised to find the movie preceded by a 60-second commercial for Diet Pepsi. The spot, which ( features a jet pilot pouring a soda while flying upside down, will be the first by a major advertiser to appear on a U.S. videocassette.

The ad is the result of a novel cross-promotion deal in which no money will change hands between Pepsi and Paramount, the film's producer. To compensate the studio for putting the ad on the cassette, almost $2 million worth of the jet-jockey Diet Pepsi commercials on broadcast TV will carry a voice-over touting the Top Gun video. Because Paramount will get free advertising, it will charge only $26.95 for the cassette, about $3 less than the lowest price so far for a major release.