At the time, it was the most extensive advertising campaign in history! In 1996, it was hoped their product would steal first place against their only real and unrelenting competitor. They had tried to overcome their competitor for over a decade.

The advertisement opened with a cocky teenager who was wearing a Pepsi t-shirt, with the sound and beat of military drums in the background. The text below the T-shirt said, “75 Pepsi Points.” Then the teenager paraded through a door in a beautiful leather jacket, and the text said, “Leather Jacket 1,440 Pepsi Points.” He then donned a pair of impressive blue-tinted sunglasses, “Shades 175 Pepsi Points.” The narrator announced . . . .” The more Pepsi you drink, the more great stuff you’re gonna get!”  

Pepsi’s catalog of prizes included 53 items: beach towels, shorts, sports balls, sandals, watches, denim jackets, a mountain bike, and more. Pepsi was out to win the Cola war raging between them and Coca-Cola for over a decade.

Finally, the teen was pictured landing a Harrier Fighter Jet in front of his high school. The computer-generated image just about blew off the clothes of his high school principal.

HARRIER FIGHTER . . . . 7,000,000 PEPSI POINTS!

Obviously, Pepsi never intended to give away a Harrier Fighter Jet, which was priced at $33 million at the time. That would have taken almost 17 million / 12 packs of Pepsi, costing a Pepsi buyer 4 million dollars. 

However, to further promote their product and increase the number of prizes won and worn, Pepsi allowed you to purchase a minimum of 15 actual Pepsi Pack points, and then you could buy the remaining points at 10 cents a point. 

A 21-year-old business student attending Shoreline Community College in Seattle, Washington, realized winning the jet was a steal. He did not need $4 million but only needed $700k to purchase enough Pepsi Points to acquire the Harrier Fighter Jet.  

John Leonard devised a plan with other investors to win the Harrier Jet. John persuaded several businessmen to front the money. On March 28, 1996, John mailed 15 Pepsi Points and a check for $700,008.50 to Pepis and asked for his Harrier Fighter Jet.

Pepsi responded . . . 

John hired an attorney and doubled down on his plan. John responded . . . 

John then filed a lawsuit for breach of contract against Pepsi! Pepsi filed a countersuit against Leonard for their attorney’s fees. After three years, the matter was finally ruled on in the Southern District of New York, which ended the legal battle between John Leonard and PepsiCo . . . .  [1]

“After Leonard’s lawsuit was filed, the Harrier jet commercial continued to air, but with some minor tweaks to drive home the joke. The points for the jet were increased from 7m to 700m, and two words were tacked onto the closing text: “Just kidding.” [1]

“Just Kidding”—At times, we have said those same words. We realized that someone might actually take us up on what we had said. We quickly say, “Only kidding.”  We spoke too quickly and/or promised too much.

Someone rightly said that you can’t dismiss Jesus as a good person because He made too many clear promises. He either was who He said He was, the Saviour, or He was a crackpot making outlandish promises. 

• He promised all of His disciples a home in His Father’s house.
• He promised eternal life if you trusted Him.
• He said that He alone can forgive sins.
• He said, Destroy this body, and in three days, I will raise it up.
• He said that He was the resurrection and the life.

Jesus never says, “Only kidding.” He always means every word He utteres and will fully honor everything He has promised. There will be no disputes about what He has promised because the Lord Jesus will fulfill everything He has spoken. 

When Jesus was at the grave of Lazarus, He said to Martha, the sister of Lazarus . . . .

“I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.

Let me ask you the question, “Believest thou this?”

Are you 100% sure that when you die, you will go to Heaven?

Deep down in your heart, do you believe that . . . .

Jesus is Who He said He was — the Christ
and
that He did what He said on Calvary — that He paid for your sins? 

Are you trusting that He is the Christ, and that His death on Calvary paid the price for all your sin?

If not, we would welcome the opportunity to send you a Bible and/or talk to you personally. Just contact us at TMart2007@Gmail.com

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1. See “The Time Pepsi Got Sued For A $33m Fighter Jet,” by Zachary Crockett, for the content of this account and more.