Is an ad a legally binding contract? Judge Kimba Wood finally brought the curtain down on one of the strangest disputes to ever reach a courtroom on 5th August, 1999 – concluding that Pepsi’s ‘Drink Pepsi, Get Stuff’ promotion had not, in fact, truly promised customers a Harrier jump jet in return for 7 million ‘Pepsi points’.

Seattle student John Leonard had spotted that Pepsi’s promotion allowed customers to buy additional Pepsi Points for 10 cents each, provided they submitted at least 15 genuine points. Backed by millionaire investor Todd Hoffman, he submitted a cheque for $700,008.50, claiming enough points to redeem the fighter jet. Pepsi refused, insisting the advert was clearly tongue-in-cheek, but the audacious stunt sparked a years-long legal battle.

Pepsi emerged victorious, but many observers felt the company had missed a golden opportunity to embrace the joke and turn Leonard into part of their ‘Cola wars’ campaign, rather than fighting him in court. Instead, Pepsi quietly altered the advert, increasing the Harrier’s price to 700 million points and adding the words “Just Kidding”, and the Pentagon stepped in to confirm that Harrier jump jets were not available for private purchase.

In today’s episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly uncover the Simpsons episode that might have influenced Leonard’s thinking; consider whether Pepsi ultimately benefitted from the publicity; and discover just how much money Leonard turned down in a pre-court settlement…

Further Reading:

• ‘‘Pepsi, Where’s My Jet?’ – when Pepsi was sued and advertising changed forever’ (Content, 2022): https://www.marketingmag.com.au/news/pepsi-wheres-my-jet-when-pepsi-was-sued-and-advertising-changed-forever/

• ‘What Happened to John Leonard? Where the Man Who Sued Pepsi Is Now’ (Newsweek, 2022): https://www.newsweek.com/what-happened-john-leonard-sued-pepsi-wheres-my-jet-netflix-1760569

• ‘Harrier Jet Commercial 1’ (Pepsi, 1996): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdackF2H7Qc&t=1s

#Legal #Strange #90s #Advertising #Business