Jump to content

Leonard v. Pepsico, Inc.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 72.213.138.75 (talk) at 05:15, 11 February 2011 (Opinion by KIMBA M. WOOD included far more than "three grounds". Also "a million dollars" changed to $700,000 as stated in the opinion by WOOD. Link to full opinion by the court added.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Leonard v. Pepsico, Inc., 88 F. Supp. 2d 116, (S.D.N.Y. 1999), aff'd 210 F.3d 88 (2d Cir. 2000), more widely known as the Pepsi Points Case, is a contracts case tried in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in 1999, in which the plaintiff, John Leonard, sued PepsiCo, Inc. in an effort to enforce an "offer" to redeem 7,000,000 Pepsi Points for a AV-8 Harrier II jump jet, which PepsiCo had shown in a portion of a televised commercial that PepsiCo argued was intended to be humorous. The plaintiff did not collect 7,000,000 Pepsi Points through the purchase of Pepsi products, but instead sent a certified check for $700,008.50 as permitted by the contest rules. Leonard had 15 existing points, paid $0.10 a point for the remaining 6,999,985 points, and a $10 shipping and handling fee.

The claim alleged both breach of contract and fraud. The case was finally heard in 1999, during which time the defendant moved for summary judgment pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56. Among other claims made, Leonard claimed that a federal judge was incapable of deciding on the matter, and that instead the decision had to be made by a jury consisting of members of "the Pepsi generation", to whom the advertisement would allegedly constitute an offer.[1]

The court described the relevant portion of the televised commercial as follows (view the commercial here):

The scene then shifts to three young boys sitting in front of a high school building. The boy in the middle is intent on his Pepsi Stuff Catalog, while the boys on either side are each drinking Pepsi. The three boys gaze in awe at an object rushing overhead, as the military march builds to a crescendo. The Harrier Jet is not yet visible, but the observer senses the presence of a mighty plane as the extreme winds generated by its flight create a paper maelstrom in a classroom devoted to an otherwise dull physics lesson. Finally, the Harrier Jet swings into view and lands by the side of the school building, next to a bicycle rack. Several students run for cover, and the velocity of the wind strips one hapless faculty member down to his underwear. While the faculty member is being deprived of his dignity, the voiceover announces: "Now the more Pepsi you drink, the more great stuff you're gonna get."

The teenager opens the cockpit of the fighter and can be seen, helmetless, holding a Pepsi. "[L]ooking very pleased with himself," (Pl. Mem. at 3,) the teenager exclaims, "Sure beats the bus," and chortles. The military drumroll sounds a final time, as the following words appear: "HARRIER FIGHTER 7,000,000 PEPSI POINTS." A few seconds later, the following appears in more stylized script: "Drink Pepsi--Get Stuff." With that message, the music and the commercial end with a triumphant flourish.

The court, presided over by Judge Kimba Wood, rejected Leonard's claims and denied recovery on many grounds, including;

  1. It was found that the advertisement featuring the jet did not constitute an offer.
  2. The court found that even if the advertisement had been an offer, no reasonable person could have believed that the company seriously intended to convey a jet worth roughly $23 million for $700,000 dollars.
  3. The value of the alleged contract meant that it fell under the provisions of the statute of frauds, but the statute's requirement for writing between the parties was not fulfilled, so a contract had not been formed.

See also

References

  1. ^ Epstein, David G. Making and Doing Deals: Contracts in Context, 2nd Ed., 2006. p. 55.
  • Morales, Ann C (2000). "Pepsi's Harrier Jet Commercial Was Not a Binding Offer to Contract". Academy of Marketing Science. Journal, 28(2), 318–320.
  • United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
  • Official Pepsico Website
  • "JOHN D.R. LEONARD, Plaintiff, –against– PEPSICO, INC., Defendant". 1999-08-05. Retrieved 2009-07-16. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help) [dead link]
  • "Pentagon: Pepsi ad 'not the real thing'". CNN.com. Cable News Network, Inc. 1996-08-09. Retrieved 2006-10-05.
  • Leonard v. Pepsico, Inc. Case Brief at Lawnix.com
  • Pepsi's Harrier Jet Commercial at YouTube
  • [1] full opinion
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Leonard_v._Pepsico,_Inc.&oldid=413247796"