College Kid Sued Pepsi for $23,000,000

Added: 2026-06-02

[00:00:00]Somebody sued Pepsi company for $23 million back in the '90s because of a commercial. In 1996, a college kid by the name of John Leonard sued Pepsi over their Pepsi Stuff commercial. That commercial jokingly showed a Harrier jet valued at $23 million that one could accumulate 7 million Pepsi points in order to acquire it. Leonard, being the smart college kid that he is, realized that a jet is $23 million and it's only going to take about $700,000 of Pepsi points in order to acquire it. That sounds like a bang-up deal. You're getting a 97% discount on a jet. Who would not go for that? So, Leonard raised the $700,000 required and asked Pepsi to deliver the jet. After Pepsi refused, Leonard sued. Now, unfortunately for Leonard, 3 years later a federal judge ruled against him. The judge concluded that no objective reasonable person could have possibly concluded that a company such as Pepsi would be willing to give away a jet for that kind of price and that nobody would interpret a television commercial as a serious and binding legal offer. The court simply ruled to add mere puffery and Leonard walked away with nothing.

[00:01:14]Fun fact, this case has actually given rise to what we know today as truth in advertising [music] so that companies don't get in that kind of pickle ever again.