The campaign was simple: you could collect points from Pepsi labels by buying Pepsi products. Once you collected points, you could claim prizes like t-shirts, sunglasses, or, for 7 million points, a Harrier Jet
The Harrier, informally referred to as the Harrier jump jet, is a family of jet-powered attack aircraft capable of vertical/short takeoff and landing operations (V/STOL). Named after a bird of prey, it was originally developed by British manufacturer Hawker Siddeley in the 1960s. The Harrier emerged as the only truly successful V/STOL design of the many attempted during that era. It was conceived to operate from improvised bases, such as car parks or forest clearings, without requiring large and vulnerable air bases. Later, the design was adapted for use on aircraft carriers.
A Harrier jump jet was even one of the prizes you could claim during a mid-90s Pepsi-Cola commercial. The commercial sparked controversy while the company was airing its Pepsi Stuff promotional campaign.
According to CBS, the campaign was simple: you could collect points from Pepsi labels by buying Pepsi products. Once you collected points you could claim prizes like t-shirts, sunglasses, or – for 7 million points – a Harrier Jet.
“Sure beats the bus,” says the actor in the commercial, while landing on campus in a computer-animated Harrier jump jet. That scene would later prove to be key in sorting the ensuing legal debacle.
Pepsi’s spot caught the eye of a 21-year-old business student, John Leonard. He was only interested in one prize.
“People say, ‘well didn’t you want a t-shirt?’ and I say, well when there’s a Harrier out there for 7 million Pepsi points why not aim your sights a little higher,” said Leonard.
Leonard noticed some fine print. In place of labels, consumers could buy Pepsi points for ten cents each. He did the math and quickly figured out that it’d take him $700,000 to buy the Pepsi points he needed for the Harrier Jet. Then Leonard hit the phones and convinced five well-off investors to give him the $700,000.
He sent Pepsi 15 labels and a check and waited for his jet.
But the Harrier never came. Pepsi said the ad was just a joke.
“Tens of millions of Americans, and people around the world, saw the spot, got the joke, and laughed,” said John Harris of Pepsi-Cola. “Mr. Leonard saw the spot, hired business advisers and lawyers, and decided to take legal action.”
After Pepsi went to court asking that Leonard’s claim be declared frivolous, he filed his own lawsuit demanding the Harrier.
“People point out that this Pepsi generation they’re trying to sell to is me,” said Leonard.
“Someone who’s taking advantage of the legal system doesn’t really typify the Pepsi generation,” countered Harris.
So the question became: Was John Leonard among the best and brightest of the Pepsi generation, or was he just a nuisance? BBC correspondent John Blackstone posed the question to several folks on the street who seemed to all support Leonard.
“I think he should get the jet,” said one man.
“Well if he drank that much Pepsi than he probably should,” said a young boy.
“Maybe he is goofy but I mean they are making those claims, if they can’t back them up then they shouldn’t be putting them on air,” said another man.
Advertising executive David Verklin said that a customer like Leonard should be celebrated, not sued.
“You have a guy here who’s done something pretty clever,” said Verklin. “I’d give him a tour across the country in a Harrier jet. I’d turn it into a TV commercial.”
Pepsi did no such thing. Beyond its legal action, it updated its commercial by raising the number of points needed for the Harrier from 7 million to 700 million.
In the end, Leonard’s lawsuit fizzled out. A court granted a summary judgment in favor of Pepsi and ruled that “no objective person could reasonably have concluded that the commercial actually offered consumers a Harrier Jet.”
The court also added this gem of a reason in its dismissal of the case: “The callow youth featured in the commercial is a highly improbable pilot, one who could barely be trusted with the keys to his parents’ car, much less the prize aircraft of the United States Marine Corps.”
And that’s the way it was on Thursday, Aug. 8, 1996.
The following clip shows the infamous Pepsi commercial where they asked 7,000,000 of Pepsi Points for a Harrier jet.