John

Can you imagine paying $89,000 a year to get a degree from Lehigh? How are these schools still in business?

A 21 year old business student raised $700,000 to claim a fighter jet from a Pepsi commercial. Pepsi sued him before he could collect. > In 1996 Pepsi ran a TV commercial for its Pepsi Points loyalty program. > At the end of the ad a teenager lands a Harrier fighter jet at a high school and steps out in a flight suit. > The caption read: "Harrier Fighter Jet. 7,000,000 Pepsi Points." > John Leonard, a 21 year old business student, watched it and did not laugh. He did the math. > Pepsi sold extra Pepsi Points at 10 cents each. 7 MILLION points would cost $700,000. A real Harrier jet costs the US military $37.4 MILLION. > He recruited his older mountain climbing friend Todd Hoffman and four other investors. Together they put up the full $700,000. > Leonard mailed in 15 original Pepsi Points, a check for $700,008.50, and a formal written order for "1 Harrier Jet." > Pepsi rejected the order and called the commercial "fanciful and simply included to create a humorous and entertaining ad." > Leonard's lawyers responded by demanding immediate delivery. > Pepsi sued first, filing a declaratory judgment action in federal court asking the judge to rule the entire claim frivolous. > Leonard countersued for breach of contract. > Pepsi's lawyers argued no reasonable person could interpret a joke commercial as a binding contract for a military aircraft. > The Department of Defense weighed in. A spokesperson stated that neither Leonard nor Pepsi could legally possess a Harrier jet without "demilitarization", a process that strips out the weapons and the ability to take off or land. > In 1999, Judge Kimba Wood ruled for Pepsi. Her opinion stated "no objective person could reasonably have concluded that the commercial actually offered consumers a Harrier Jet." > Pepsi quietly updated the commercial. The jet now cost 700 MILLION Pepsi Points. They also added a "Just Kidding" disclaimer. > In 2022 Netflix released a four part documentary about it called "Pepsi, Where's My Jet?" > Leonard, now in his 50s, works as a park ranger for the National Park Service. He has never said he regrets it. > The case is now taught in nearly every American law school. The "Just Kidding" or disclaimer Pepsi added became standard practice across every advertiser in America. One student forced the industry to start spelling out when it was "for entertainment purposes only".