Absurd But True
He mailed Pepsi $700,000 for a fighter jet
- Absurd But True
- 26 Oct 2026
- 0:42
- Short
In 1996 a customer mailed PepsiCo's rewards fulfillment house an order form, fifteen Pepsi Points and a check for $700,008.50, after a TV commercial ended with a teenager landing a Harrier jet at school beside the words "HARRIER FIGHTER 7,000,000 PEPSI POINTS." The fulfillment house returned the check, saying the jet in the commercial was "fanciful and is simply included to create a humorous and entertaining ad." In August 1999 a federal court in New York granted PepsiCo summary judgment, saying the commercial was not an offer and that "no objective person could reasonably have concluded that the commercial actually offered consumers a Harrier Jet." In April 2000 the Second Circuit affirmed "for substantially the reasons stated" in the district court's opinion.
Sources - Opinion and order granting summary judgment, 88 F. Supp. 2d 116 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 5, 1999): https://www.courtlistener.com/c/F.%20Supp.%202d/88/116/ - Second Circuit opinion affirming, 210 F.3d 88 (2d Cir. Apr. 17, 2000, per curiam): https://www.courtlistener.com/c/F.3d/210/88/
Transcript
A man mailed a soda company a check for $700,000. He wanted a fighter jet. This is real. Federal court, New York, 1999. A Pepsi commercial showed a teenager landing a Harrier jet at school. On screen: 7,000,000 Pepsi Points. Extra points cost ten cents each. He sent 15 points and a check for $700,008.50. Pepsi’s fulfillment house returned the check, calling the jet “fanciful.” The judge granted Pepsi summary judgment: the ad was not an offer. The Second Circuit affirmed in 2000. He did not get the jet. Absurd. But true.
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