Pepsi & John Leonard & the Harrier Jet: EQHAS: Every Question Has A Story #quizwithmanas

"Welcome back to EQHAS: Every Question Has A Story, where curiosity meets storytelling. I'm your host, Manas Nayak, and today, we're diving into one of the quirkiest legal battles in advertising history. It's a story of ambition, wit, and… a fighter jet? Buckle up, because this one’s got everything: a marketing campaign gone wrong, a courtroom drama, and, of course, an unanswered question."

?"That’s right, folks. In the mid-90s, Pepsi found itself in hot water—or should I say, a sky-high controversy—when a man demanded a $32 million fighter jet they featured in a TV commercial. Here's the story."

"It all started with Pepsi’s 1996 Pepsi Points campaign, a loyalty program encouraging customers to collect points by purchasing Pepsi products. The points could then be redeemed for prizes like sunglasses, t-shirts, and jackets. Sounds straightforward, right?

But here’s where things get interesting. Pepsi aired a cheeky TV commercial featuring a Harrier jet, a military aircraft capable of vertical takeoff, as one of the rewards. The price? Seven million Pepsi Points. A playful exaggeration? Absolutely. But not everyone saw it that way."

"Enter John Leonard, a 21-year-old business student from Seattle, who saw the ad and thought, 'Why not take Pepsi at its word?' Now, collecting seven million Pepsi Points seemed impossible, but Leonard found a loophole: Pepsi allowed customers to buy points for 10 cents each.

Leonard calculated the cost of the jet—roughly $700,000, far less than the actual value of $32 million—and raised the money with help from investors. He sent a check and an order form to Pepsi, requesting his fighter jet. How did Pepsi respond? With a polite refusal and a joke about the commercial being 'just a fantasy.' But Leonard wasn’t laughing."

"Leonard filed a lawsuit in 1999, accusing Pepsi of breach of contract and false advertising. His argument? The commercial made a clear offer, and he accepted it by fulfilling the requirements. Pepsi’s defense? They argued that no reasonable person would believe the jet offer was serious, calling it 'a humorous advertisement.'

The judge sided with Pepsi, ruling that the ad was obviously intended as a joke and dismissing the case. Leonard walked away empty-handed, but the story didn’t end there—it became a cultural phenomenon."

"This bizarre case has inspired legal discussions, marketing classes, and even a Netflix documentary titled Pepsi, Where’s My Jet? It highlights the power—and pitfalls—of advertising. The big question remains: was Leonard a clever opportunist or just someone who took things too literally?

https://shorturl.at/fvuCc : Link for the Documentary

What do you think? Drop your thoughts in the comments or tag us on social media. And remember, every question—no matter how outrageous—has a story."

NOTE & THOUGHT BUBBLES: This can be a wonderful case study for MBA students in B-School while watching the documentary based on this incident available on Netflix India and yes to teach about "Ethics in Advertising" in my opinion.