How John Leonard Feels Now About Taking on Pepsi – In His Own Words

In the 1990s, PepsiCo had an idea during the "cola wars" against rival brand Coca-Cola—it was going to launch a points-for-prizes promotion giving customers points for buying drinks that could then be exchanged for merchandise.

The plan was revealed in a commercial that explained if customers saved Pepsi labels they could redeem Pepsi-branded merchandise, like a T-shirt for 75 points or a leather jacket for 1,450 points. The advert then ended with a scene that spawned an infamous legal dispute: It suggested an AV-8 Harrier II jump jet was up for grabs for 7,000,000 points.

This final scene, PepsiCo later argued, was a joke, but for then student John Leonard it was the chance to win a military jet. So, he set about getting the necessary points.

How John Leonard Feels Now About Taking on Pepsi – In His Own Words

At first, Leonard thought he could earn the points by buying the amount of Pepsi bottles he'd need to get them, but the logistics to make that happen proved quite tricky. That is, until he found a loophole in PepsiCo's plan: Points could be purchased for 10 cents each, meaning he could pay $700,000 for a then $23 million jet.

With the help of his millionaire friend Todd Hoffman, Leonard sent PepsiCo a cheque for the required amount in exchange for the points he'd need to earn the jet. But, the drinks company refused to do so and filed a lawsuit seeking a ruling that it didn't need to give him the aforementioned jet.

Leonard then launched a countersuit in which he claimed it was a breach of contract and fraud. In the end, the judge presiding over the case sided with PepsiCo and argued that no reasonable person would have seen the advert as being a genuine offer.

Leonard and Hoffman have spoken about their experiences for Netflix's new documentary Pepsi, Where's My Jet? Leonard has also reflected on how he feels now, looking back at his younger self.

In an interview with IndieWire, Leonard shared that he and Hoffman don't feel "any sort of regret" for their past.

"We didn't get the jet, but for both of us — and frankly I wouldn't have said this two years ago before we started this project — but now we look back and I have very fond, positive memories that we had a lot of fun with it," he told the publication.

"I hid from this story for a long time; it felt like kind of a failure on many levels. [But] it taught me a whole bunch about people and business and all that sort of stuff. It taught me how to laugh at myself, and I think it's taught both Todd and I about friendship."

Leonard also spoke to the Independent about the event, saying that at the time he saw the advert as a "legitimate opportunity to change [his] world," but that he recognizes now that on some level he wanted to seize an opportunity.

Reflecting on his past, Leonard told the publication: "I was being opportunistic while being intellectually honest and laying your cards on the table - there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

"This [documentary] brought me to terms with the idea that there shouldn't be any shame in what I did when I was 19 or 20. Shame is probably too strong a word, but maybe a little embarrassment."

He said a similar thing in an interview with the Guardian, saying: "Looking back on it, it was opportunistic. Absolutely. But that's not always a negative thing. And back then I wholeheartedly thought that we were going to get the jet.

"What I struggle with today is how can I have really thought that I was going to get the jet? I'm 48 years old now, and I'm now looking back on it like: what kind of d***** were you, man?"

Pepsi, Where's My Jet? is out on Netflix now.