The Big Flop - Dude, Where's My Pepsi Jet? With Kel Mitchell and Tehran Von Ghasri | 31

Episode Date: April 15, 2024

In the sugar-fueled '90s, Pepsi had one goal: win the Cola Wars. But when it launched “Pepsi Stuff", an ambitious promotion that encouraged people to buy Pepsi and redeem points for prizes, they overlooked their own fine print. When they promised a military-grade plane for less than it was worth "as a joke," Pepsi never imagined somebody might try to actually snag it. After an enterprising dude from Seattle gamed the points system, Pepsi was on the hook for…a jet.Kel Mitchell (Kenan & Kel, Good Burger 2) and Tehran Von Ghasri (The Persian Bachelorette) join Misha to pop the lid on Pepsi Stuff.Follow The Big Flop on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to The Big Flop early and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to The Big Flop early and ad-free. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple podcasts. In a fancy, minimalist, C-suite office high above Madison Avenue, an ad man named Jeff Mordus is patting himself on the back. He's just launched a huge new campaign with Pepsi, and it's a hit. Jeff is the chief operating officer for the hotshot global ad agency BBDO,

and they've been turning Pepsi into the cola of choice for a new generation. BBDO's ads are funny, eye-catching, bizarre, and star-studded. Most importantly, they're getting people to drink more Pepsi. This year, under the direction of BBDO, Pepsi is taking a big gamble on their newest promotion, the Pepsi Stuff Catalog.

There are all sorts of cool items in the catalog. Blue tinted sunglasses, a duffel bag that looks like a soda can, and thirsty fans can only get those things if they drink Pepsi and collect enough points to redeem them. BBDO has whipped up a really clever ad for the campaign, playing on some of the biggest blockbuster hits of the day. The commercial looks like an action movie, where a cool kid who's decked out in Pepsi merch

lands a hovering Harrier jet in front of his school. The jet isn't actually in the catalog, but the commercial says it costs seven million Pepsi points. Good thing that's completely insane and unattainable, right? Jeff and the BBDO crew just think it's hilarious. Most importantly, sales are up. Time for another whiskey in the lounge to celebrate the success. Jeff grabs his things, but the phone rings.

He answers. The call is from Pepsi HQ. It's Brian Sweety, Pepsi's chief marketing officer. There's a major problem with the Pepsi stuff campaign, he tells Jeff. Someone just sent in an order for him and they're asking for their jet. Now the more Pepsi you drink, the more great stuff you're going to get. People say, well, didn't you want a t-shirt? I said, well, why not aim your sights a little higher?

In case anyone else is thinking of ordering a jet, Pepsi has now raised the number of points needed. This is taught in law schools around the country. We are on a sinking ship. From Wondery and at Will Media, this is The Big Flop, where we chronicle the greatest flubs, fails, and blunders of all time. I'm your host, Misha Brown, social media superstar, and more of a Coke guy at Don't Cross the Gay Man.

And today, we're talking about the time a college student tried to redeem a Harrier jet from Pepsi for only $700,000 plus $10 shipping. Have you ever felt like escaping to your own desert island? Well that's exactly what Jane, Phil, and their three kids did when they traded their English home for a tropical island they bought online. But paradise has its secrets,

and family life is about to take a terrifying turn. You don't fire at people in that area without some kind of consequence. And he says, yes ma'am, he's dead. There's pure cold-blooded terror running through me. From Wondery, I'm Alice Levine and this is The Price of Paradise, the real-life story of an island dream that ends in kidnap, corruption, and murder. Search and follow The Price of Paradise now to listen to the full trailer.

On our show today, we have freaking Kel Mitchell. Actor, comedian, and star of your favorite shows from the 90s. His movie Good Burger 2 is now streaming on Paramount+. How are you doing? Hey, I'm doing good. Happy to talk about some soda. And joining him is Tehran VanGaasri, a standup comedian who hosts a weekly show at the Laugh Factory in Hollywood. Thank you so much. We're actually, we just unveiling our new show,

Tehran and Kel, it's coming out soon. Look for it, you know? So I guess before we get into the story, are you Pepsi or are you Team Coke? I don't know. You know, I like them both. Switzerland. That's a person who has business savvy.

Yeah, man. Yeah. You might get sponsored by either one. You're already thinking, yo, I like them both. I like... About to mess up my brand deals. Well, this story is part of the Cola Wars, aka the rivalry between soda giants Coca Cola and Pepsi. Now, Coke was invented in 1886 and had dominated the cola market for years.

Pepsi hit the market a decade after Coke and was always and always has been the newcomer. But in 1975, Pepsi becomes a real threat to Coke. Pepsi positions itself as the drink of a new generation, the Pepsi generation, and features ads with Lionel Richie, Michael Jackson, and the Spice Girls, you know, the trifecta. In 1996, Pepsi's marketing team comes up with a new promotion that will revolutionize the soda market game, Pepsi Stuff. It's a simple idea. Pepsi packages will be printed with various amounts of Pepsi

points. Pepsi drinkers need to collect Pepsi points and can cash them in for stuff like a soccer ball or a beach towel with a Pepsi logo on it. This is Pepsi's largest promo swing to date and execs are expecting to spend $200 million on the Pepsi Stuff campaign. Do you remember the Pepsi Stuff catalog? Did you ever redeem anything from it? I do. I do remember. And I think I got some Reeboks.

I think they had some shoes. Only thing I got from the Pepsi catalog was a cavity, like from drinking so much Pepsi. Like I never redeemed... You got shoes honestly you should be more famous for getting Pepsi shoes than anything else like real like you were able to collect enough to get shoes yeah they had a bunch of stuff man they had the jackets they had all that I mean it was crazy when you saw the commercial and shout out to the Pepsi generation song we just

breezed by that that song was pop that song the commercial generation that was lit look it up y'all see my problem was in my household Generation song. We just breezed by that. That song was poppin'. That song was good. Generation. That was lit. Look it up, y'all. See, my problem was in my household. So my dad's from Iran. So I have an immigrant dad and like a black mom. Okay. We got the off-brand Coke. I didn't even know Kellogg's made cornflakes until I was like 24. What's the name of the cornflakes? Because you know it's always a different name. Yeah, it was like corn breaks. It wasn't even...

It's like, they're great? No, they're good. It was just like... Take a break and eat some corn. Exactly. That's what I got. So, Kel, you just brought up the ad that Pepsi Points came out with. So, let's take a look at that ad from BBDO. And, Kel, as it plays, can you just read out how many Pepsi points each item is worth?

Okay. I remember this. There's a t-shirt. Seventy-five. A jacket. One thousand four hundred and fifty points. Some sunglasses. One hundred and seventy-five.

Oh, they went all out. The more Pepsi you drink, the more great stuff you're going to get. Whoa! Did that say seven million? Yes. The ad that we just watched ends with a kid flying a fancy jet with the price tag of seven million Pepsi points. Oh, man.

I don't know why you're surprised. The Reebok shoes were only six million points and you got them. So, one million more points, you would have got yourself a jet. My mom, she didn't collect points, but she won an instant prize off of Diet Pepsi Cap. It was our first flat screen TV, surround sound system, it was a whole thing. What? See? I know, it was pretty cool. I just feel like such an underachiever in this group.

Between Misha and Kel, I just feel like I've never gotten anything from anything. Like, I got diabetes. Like, I just didn't get anything of any worthy from Pepsi drinks. Oh, shout out to Pepsi. You gotta get him something. Get him something. So it's meant to be a joke,

but did either of you happen to see any disclaimer on the screen about that Harrier jet? There was no disclaimer. No disclaimer. No disclaimer. And here's the thing, it wasn't a joke. Like, I also used to think you could getrier jet. There was no disclaimer. No disclaimer. No disclaimer. And I don't, and here's the thing, it wasn't a joke. Like I also used to think you could get a jet. Now for the Pepsi Stuff campaign, in order to accrue 7 million Pepsi points,

you would have to drink 190 cans of Pepsi every day for 100 years. It's a lot of Pepsi. It's a lot of Pepsi. You probably go into a coma. Also, that fancy jet in the ad is a Harrier jet, which is a military aircraft. It can take off and land vertically, hover in place like a helicopter, and is equipped with all sorts of combat features. It's not a piece of merch, like sunglasses or a hacky sack,

even though the one in the ad does have a Pepsi logo on it. But the one in the ad didn't have missiles. Here's the thing, if you've ever watched Lord of War, because I get all my information from movies, if you ever watched Lord of War, if you sell the aircraft and the weapons separately, then it's an aid vehicle and then these are weapons that's completely legal. Well, Tehran, you are not the only one who thought that jet was attainable. separately, then it's an aid vehicle and then these are weapons that's completely legal. Well Tehran, you are not the only one who thought that jet was attainable.

There was another guy out there who really wanted that Harrier jet. So let me introduce you to John Leonard, a 20-something community college student from outside Seattle, Washington. In addition to school, he's always got some sort of side hustle. He was a paperboy, a glass cutter, a delivery boy for a teriyaki place, a window washer, and a mountain guide, to name a few things. On one excursion, he leads a successful businessman named Todd Hoffman up Mount Denali, the tallest mountain in North America. And it ends up being an extreme experience with Leonard and Hoffman stuck in a two-man tent for days

while waiting out a snowstorm to pass. So they become real close, real fast. From that point on, Todd and John end up traveling the world together, embarking on all kinds of adventures, eventually traveling to Antarctica to climb Mount Vinson, its highest mountain.

John's mother even describes Todd as a father figure to her industrious son. Sounds like Oscar-based. Sounds like a great movie. So one day, John's working as a little league coach. His assistant coach, Rob, tears off the label from his drink and asks for the label off John's Pepsi bottle. Rob explains that he and his buddies are pooling points together to win that jet from the commercial. John has no idea what Rob's talking about.

Once John sees the ad, he's inspired and he thinks of the Harrier jet as the ultimate side hustle. He dreams about renting it out for rides, even though it's a one-seater jet. He also plans to tour the jet around to air shows or rent it out for movie productions or whatever else you do with a multimillion dollar fighter jet. What would you do with it if you got one? J.D. SILVERMAN A fighter jet? K. J. D. SILVERMAN Yeah, this sounds like an incriminating question.

J.D. SIL question. I know, right? I was like, I don't know if I should answer. Listen, especially, I bring up my Middle Eastern background all of a sudden. What would you do with the fighter jet? I know what you're doing right now, Misha. Okay? I was like, I'm leaving that alone. You're trying to set us up.

Never. I would never. Well, again, to pull this off, he'd have to harvest points from 190 cans of Pepsi a day for a century. So let's hear a clip of John from the Netflix documentary, Pepsi, Where's My Jet? I had no idea how many people were out trying to do this. So in the back of my mind, I was up against the clock. So I had the sense of urgency that I was really trying to make it happen and be the first one.

How much competition do you think John's going to have on this one? I mean, it's between him and Cal and who else? Who else can like this on points? I don't even know a person who ever got a t-shirt, like a t-shirt. There was one kid got some sunglasses and we thought he was just like the richest kid in the world. We were like, oh my gosh, how did Tom get those sunglasses? Hello, I'm Emily, one of the hosts of Terribly Famous, the show that takes you inside the lives of our biggest celebrities. Some of them hit the big time overnight, some had to plug away for years, but in our latest series we're talking about a man who was

world famous before he was even born. A life of extreme privilege that was mapped out from the start, but left him struggling to find his true purpose. A man who, compared to his big brother, felt a bit, you know, spare. Yes, it's Prince Harry. You might think you know everything about him, but trust me, there's even more. We follow Harry and the obsessive, all-consuming relationship of his life. Not with Meghan, but the British tabloid press. Hounded and harassed, Harry is taking on an institution almost every bit as powerful as his own royal family.

Follow Terribly Famous wherever you listen to podcasts, or listen early and ad free on Wander and our recent rundown of the Murdoch saga. Last year, we also started a second weekly show, Shorthand, which is just an excuse for us to talk about anything we find interesting because it's our show and we can do what we like. We've covered the death of Princess Diana, an unholy Quran written in Saddam Hussein's blood, the gruesome history of European witch hunting,

and the very uncomfortable phenomenon of genetic sexual attraction. Whatever the case, we want to know what pushes people to the extremes of human behavior. Like, can someone give consent to be cannibalized? What drives a child to kill? And what's the psychology of a terrorist? Listen to Red Handed wherever you get your podcasts and access our bonus short hand episodes exclusively on Amazon Music or by subscribing to Wondry Plus in Apple podcasts or the Wondry app. Well, John knows he's going to need some financial support if he's going to accomplish his dream. And who better than businessman Todd? So John trusts Todd and knows he's a

risk taker with some money to invest, so maybe he'll be down for John's rent-a-jet business idea? Per John's request, Todd watches the commercial, sees the lack of a disclaimer, and decides that it's probably not a great business idea, but it sure is a great way to stick a thumb in the eye of a gigantic corporation that sells a product that coincidentally Todd thinks tastes like shit. So Todd was in and the plan was on. But now they needed to figure out how to make it all work. So let's put on our oversized power ties and play a business game. Welcome to Flop Tank.

It's kind of like Shark Tank. Now on Flop Tank, you two are representing John and his crazy Pepsi Jet idea, and I am one of the sharks. So I'll be considering your business and I have some hard-hitting business questions. But don't worry, I'll give you answer options for each question. Yeah, let's do it. Disclaimer. You do not win money. Yeah.

First question. How much money do you need to start a Pepsi Points harvesting business? Is it higher or lower than $5 million? If it's higher, I'm out. Hey, sharks. I'm Teron and this is Kel. Today, we want to get you on board with our idea, Harrier Jet. Have you ever wanted the jet to work or jet to the game? Ever been late to picking up your significant other? For the small sum of $4 million, we can get you into a jet quick as Harriers get.

So sharks, what do you say? That was incredible. And you are really, really close to the actual answer because John prices this business venture at $4.3 million. Second question, Kel, what kind of deal am I getting here? How much is a Harrier Jump Jet usually worth? Ooh, probably, I wanna say it's about 340 million.

Yeah, it's very expensive. It's a very expensive jet. I have a lot of knowledge. My business is mostly based in military manufacturing. So you've overestimated it was $32 million. Ten times more. Ten times more. So John called the Pentagon pretending to be working on a paper for school and spoke

with chief spokesman Kenneth Bacon. And Bacon said that if you were going to buy directly from the manufacturer, you'd have to order a minimum of six jets. That's close. That's closer. Six jets. That's closer to what I was saying. 180 million. He missed the six pack. But you also, you know, you got to understand,

Kel also means to upgrade. Kel don't do anything small. He does things big. Like he's not just getting the regular, he's getting the Maybach, you know? It's does things big. He's not just getting the regular, he's getting the Maybach. It's just an upgraded version. That's why. It's custom-bound. It's a Pepsi all on the side. Exactly. Now, thinking of logistics, we'll need to store all of that Pepsi, but I have ends with some famous large buildings. Give me a world landmark I can fit all of that soda into,

and I'll seriously consider your business proposal. Which real estate connections do I have? Is it the Coliseum, the Statue of Liberty, the Taj Mahal, or the Alamo? The Taj Mahal. Tehran, any ideas? Oh, you wanted me, because I was deferring to my partner. I was going to defer to my partner.

If he says, we ride and die together, you know, Taj Mahal sounds about right. I don't know how spacious it is. But so the Taj Mahal is actually the smallest of those. Yo, I mean, when I say I ride or die, I didn't mean that we die more than like, I didn't mean we die more. Can we ride sometimes? We ridin'. No, can we ride? The answer is the Colosseum. Colosseum, yeah. The scheme requires 600,000 cubic feet of storage.

And in ancient times, the Colosseum had over 770,000 cubic square feet of space in the arena. For reference, if you're so interested, the Statue of Liberty is 177,000. Just wondering that. The Taj Mahal is only 34,000 cubic square feet inside. The Alamo is a little over 100,000. Do you know Rick Ross House? They should have put it there. We could have put it there. All right. Last question. My lawyers will kill me if I don't ask. Is it even legal to own a Harrier Jump Jet as a private citizen?

Yes or no. See, here's the thing. It's illegal. Right? The idea is, if it doesn't contain military top secret classifications, modifications, and or technology, then it is clearly legal for a private citizen to have a Harrier Jet. Ding, ding ding ding. Yes.

Pentagon chief spokesman Kenneth Bacon said it was legal as long as all the missiles and radar jamming equipment are removed first. So congratulations. I'm in. We are going to make millions. As we should. As we should. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. So John's plan is to use $4.3 million to hire temp workers in six different cities just

to buy Pepsi, collect the points, and warehouse the pointless Pepsi until they figure out what to do with it. So how are we feeling about John right now? Do you support folks who take advantage of loopholes or is it annoying when people try to game the system? I mean, he said, give me my jet. You know what I mean? At all costs, you know what I mean?

Hey, this guy climbs mountains, okay? He's climbing mountains. So, you know, this was another goal for him, a breakthrough. He was like, let me take down Pepsi. I'm always gonna support people sticking it to big business, big government, whatever it is. That's just because that's the most empowering we can be. It's not like Pepsi was being benevolent and altruistic when they were doing this. They were doing it to stick it to the little people,

to get the average person to drink Pepsi with this version of it's possible. Well, if it's possible, let's make it happen. Well, before things get too far, Todd points out a fatal flaw in John's plan. What happens if Pepsi discontinues the Pepsi Stuff program before John can get all of those points? Todd hates to say no to John, but the plan just doesn't hold up.

John's dream is crushed... until he finds one of Tehran's favorite loopholes. Walking around a convenience store, John sees a Pepsi stuff kiosk and gets his hands on the points catalog. He notices something. A complete game changer. You can buy Pepsi points for cash. If you have a minimum of 15 points, you can buy the rest of the points at 10 cents per point. Can you do the math real quick? 10 cents times 7 million. 700,000. There it is. Yes, 700,000. He only needs 700k to buy the points and redeem them for a $32 million jet. Smart. Honestly, this is a better investment than

Bitcoin. Like 700,000 is going to get you $30 million. Yeah, you got to go for it. So John gets his adventurous businessman buddy Todd Hoffman back on board, and John and Todd fill out the Pepsi Stuff catalog order form and write in, one Harrier Jet please, in the section where they explain what they want for their points. And they include a check for $700,000, $8.50, and the minimum 15 Pepsi points required to participate. Smart.

A few months go by, nothing. And then John finally hears back from Pepsi. They say in part that the jet is not part of the Pepsi stuff catalog or the order form. And it was just in the ad as a joke. Kel, could you please read the rest of Pepsi's letter? Oh, man, we apologize for any misunderstanding or confusion that you may have experienced in our enclosing some free product coupons for your use.

Oh, sincerely PepsiCo, sincerely. Free product coupons. Now you got, sincerely. Free product coupons. Not even free products. Now you got free products. Free product coupons. That's it. Not even the products. Yeah, I would sue too.

I'm gonna be honest, I would sue. Free product coupons? He tore this up and threw it at the wall. What? Yeah. John's legal team responds, calling Pepsi's letter totally unacceptable. His team argues that the ad clearly offers the jet for 7 million points, and John followed

those rules. So, Teron, could you please read the rest? This is a formal demand that you honor your commitment and make immediate arrangements to transfer the new Harrier jet to our client. If we do not receive transfer instructions within 10 business days of the date of this letter, you will leave us no choice but to file an appropriate action against Pepsi. Sincerely, counsel for John Leonard. Whoa.

All right. It's getting intense. I like it. So, in August of 1996, John Leonard sues PepsiCo, accusing the soda company and its partner BBDO of fraud, false advertising, and breach of contract. Do you think he has a real case here? Well, the show is called The Big Flop. Here's the thing. I literally went to law school just for this stuff.

So in these cases, when people are like, oh, it sounds frivolous. No, the idea is if you were an average person, and you decided to say, hey, I'm selling Rapple tickets. And if you win the Rapple, you win a car and I never delivered on the car, you would sue me. You want us to buy your product? Great. Deliver the things you promise.

Love that. Come on. things you promise. Love that. Come on, that was it. Come on, man. I should have been the one. This is actually, I would love to fight these kind of cases because they mean the most. This is a kid who had a dream, shot for the stars, landed on the moon. And at this time, the big company saying no, it didn't give a disclaimer. It never said just kidding in the ad. That ad said 7 million points, Harrier Jet. That is it. Yeah. Okay, Aaron Brockman.

Come on, man. Come on, man. No, 100%. Break it down. Seriously, I love it. You want the truth? You can't handle the truth. So meanwhile, Pepsi and BBDO, they are panicking, but they don't want to give in to John. However, they do need the story to go away so they can get back to business as usual. They were hoping to buy him off at first with two coupons for free cases of Pepsi, but I

mean, that's insulting at best. Pepsi, lawyers, decide to respond to John's lawsuit with their own lawsuit, declaring John's lawsuit a legal nuisance. But Pepsi shoots themselves in the foot by making a couple of damning mistakes. First, Pepsi has BBDO change the ad so that the price of the jet jumps from 7 million points to 700 million points. That means if you want to pay for a Pepsi Jet, you'll be overpaying by around $47 million. After that ad airs for a bit, Pepsi alters it again to add, quote, just kidding, in parentheses.

Remember, John already did his due diligence on that point. So changing the price and adding a disclaimer after the fact are seen as an admission of guilt by John and Todd. So John and his team eventually set up a meeting with lawyers for PepsiCo and BBDO. Pepsi lawyers try to get John to admit it's all a joke, but it's not a joke to John. He very seriously wants that jet.

So Pepsi offers to settle with John somewhere in the range of $750,000 to $1 million. Let's hear a clip from the Netflix documentary of John and Todd's response. I distinctly remember Todd and I were standing over by a window. Todd's like, this is something that's here now, and you could potentially do something with this. This won't change my life. It could change your life financially. He wanted me to be aware of the potential consequences

of walking away. Whatever you want to do, I'm a million percent supportive of you. Todd's like, well, what do you think? I'm like, I want the jet. Yo! So here's another question. Would you have taken the deal? Couldn't Pepsi have just gave him like a little puddle jumper,

like a little, you know, some cool little plane they could have just gave this man. Single engine Cessna. Basically the same. Yeah. You know, wrap it with Pepsi on the side, you know what I mean? There you go. Can give you the Harrier, but take this.

So now that John has turned down the settlement offer, he and his team realize they need a strategy refresh if they're going to outmaneuver the legal teams of two multi-million dollar companies. Enter Michael Avenatti, famous for representing Stormy Daniels in her hush money case against Donald Trump. But back in 1996, Avenatti was a young law student who was simply intrigued by John's case. Avenatti and John are relatively close in age,

and while they worked together on the case for nearly a year, they become friends, too. Avenatti sees the whole thing as a David vs. Goliath-type story, and Avenatti knows that if they want to defeat a giant company like Pepsi, it's important for the public to relate to John, the little guy. So Avenatti starts getting John booked on TV to talk about the disagreement. And John talks about how he really likes drinking Pepsi, adding, This Pepsi generation that they're trying to sell to you is me.

Offering a rebuttal, Pepsi spokesman John Harris tells the press, quote, Someone who's taking advantage of the legal system doesn't really typify the Pepsi generation. Some press at the time referred to John as a, quote, member of the lawsuit generation. They're going to do a spirit campaign because that's how it works. But if you look at it, how was John not the Pepsi generation? Any other generation would have looked at it and been like, maybe this is absurd. But coming into the 90s, where the world looks so hopeful and promises, and we believe in

things like Pepsi in the United States of America, why wouldn't this kid believe this is true? I believed it when I was a kid. I thought it was real. Amen. Pepsi had to protect Pepsi at that point. No, I understand why Pepsi did what it did. Because they would have had a bunch of kids coming in, a bunch of kids would have been,

but wait a minute! Remember Kenneth Bacon, the Pentagon guy who told John over the phone that it was legal for a citizen to own a decommissioned Harrier jet? Well around this time, he holds a press conference and comments on the Pepsi jet lawsuit. Bacon says that even if Pepsi were forced to hand over a Harrier jet, the jet would have to be rendered unable to fly first. So, I mean, Kel, do you think there's something fishy about the timing here? Do you think Pepsi has a hotline to the Pentagon? Like, how deep does this go?

Oh, man. I don't know anything's possible. My thing is military industrial complex. Let's make a phone call. What do they drink? I don't know. Maybe Kenneth Bacon was just like Pepsi. Like, he got more than two cases of Pepsi delivered. I don't know. Well, once the media blitz is over, Avenatti looks for his next move. And he decides to do opposition research on Pepsi and looks into past issues with their sweepstakes campaigns. And boy does he find a big one. Avenatti uncovers a fiasco in the Philippines where Pepsi was supposed to give away a million

pesos to whoever found the right number on their bottle cap. At the time, a million pesos was worth about $40,000, and given that the average monthly salary for a family was only $100, that would have been a life-changing amount of money. A computer error accidentally led to the million peso number being printed on 800,000 caps. Pepsi refused to pay out and a riot ensued. A truck was firebombed by a Molotov cocktail and five people died, but Pepsi refused to pay out because honoring

every golden cap would have cost them 32 billion. Yo, we need to do a whole movie on Pepsi. Like, that's some serious stuff right there. So Avenatti wants to hit back at Pepsi with a damning ad campaign that'll embarrass the company and get them to pay up, if not with a jet, with more money. So Avenatti creates three print ads. One ad depicts John with the Pepsi

logo painted on his face to look like a black eye. Another ad is a lit Molotov cocktail in a glass Pepsi bottle and text mentioning the riots in the Philippines. And the third ad is a full page ad that is completely blank except for a small disclaimer at the bottom mocking Pepsi. Kel, could you read Avenatti's parody disclaimer for us? Hey Pepsi, look down here. This is the space that reserved for legal verbiage. You know the kind of stuff that keeps you from getting yourself in trouble because it

negates any ambiguous or otherwise misleading promises that may appear in your ad. Pretty cool safety measure. Yeah, but unfortunately, your Pepsi Point's television commercial didn't have any such disclaimers. So viewers such as John Leonard were left to think the offer was as genuine as the t-shirts and sunglasses. He didn't breathe when he did that one. He was just talking straight through. Hey, Pepsi, look down here. This is Pepsi. I'm sure the eagle wouldseat, and at that moment, you're the best in the big episode.

He was cussing him out. He was cussing him out. Man, that was a lot. I was reading that like, whoo, he going in. So, I mean, John and Avenatti, they get newspapers, including USA Today, to agree to run the ads, and he also plans to put up a billboard right across the street from Pepsi's corporate headquarters. But Todd hates the ads and he also plans to put up a billboard right across the street from Pepsi's

corporate headquarters. But Todd hates the ads. He thinks Avenatti is playing dirty and he doesn't want anything to do with them, so John now has to choose between his friends. But as much as he likes Avenatti, the strategy he came up with, John sides with Todd and the ads, they never run. Meanwhile, the Pepsi Stuff campaign is becoming a victim of its own success. In June of 1996, the $125 million campaign comes to an end because too many customers have collected too many points and want too much stuff, Kel.

I told you that was going to happen. The kids just walking around with Reeboks. points and want too much stuff, Kel. I told you that was going to happen. The kids just walking around with Reeboks. In fact, 50% more customers are redeeming prizes than Pepsi had anticipated. However, if John's case is successful, there's still one more piece of Pepsi stuff that will have to be awarded. John's lawsuit against Pepsi is tied up in legal limbo for years. In the meantime, John and Todd continue to go on

adventures climbing the tallest mountains in the world together. How sweet. Finally, in 1999, years after John first sees the ad, his case is heard in the Southern District of New York. John and his team are hoping for a jury trial, figuring that a jury will side with John over a big mean corporation. But they don't get it. Instead, the case is heard by Judge Kimba Wood. Wood hears the case, but she rules in favor of Pepsi.

Objection! Objection! Objection! Judge Wood writes a pretty lengthy legal decision where she determines that John's case is without merit. She claims no reasonable person could see the ad as a legitimate offer. That's it. No jet. John loses. Oh, John.

But at least he's not out $700,000 since Pepsi never cashed his check. So this whole mess happens because Pepsi priced a Harrier Jet at just 7 million points. How could this even happen? Well, in the Netflix documentary series, BBDO creative director Michael Paddy spills some tea. Or should I say, Spills Some Pepsi. Paddy reveals something that he never told anybody while the case was happening because it was too damning for Pepsi. He says the original storyboard had the Harrier fighter jet priced at 700 million Pepsi points. Why did it change? Some unnamed Pepsi executive said that the large number was too hard to read on the TV screen. Michael said he pushed back, but the change

was made regardless. Ultimately, Michael hoped that the public would know that the Harrier jet was supposed to be a joke. So if you were an ad man on the project, would you be real mad? Man. Was that guy in the documentary like with a shadow over him and the voice is different? Yeah, yeah. Voice changer. Pepsi's almost like, damn you, Steve. I told you. It just doesn't look right on the screen. But here's the problem though. The t-shirt, it said like 190 points. So the 1435 points and all the points that Kel read, but those were the points that you needed to get those items. So why would it not be reasonable to assume that the jet was also the point to get that item? By the way, in Canada,

the commercial, same commercial in Canada had the disclaimer because the Canadian government was like, you can't just run this without that. So they had indicators that this would happen. Yo, how did you know about Canada? That's dope. Like, was that in the documentary? I watched the documentary. Okay.

I'm proud that John Leonard took this to court. A lot of times we look and we go, I wish someone would do something about that rather than look in the mirror and realize, wait, I am someone. I can do something about that. That look in the mirror and realize, wait, I am someone. I can do something about that. That's why he should have did it. He should have did the campaign with Michael Jackson because Mike was around around that time. He should have, I'm looking at it was Johnny and then he was in the mirror. They would have won. They would have won. So let's do a little, where are they now? John's lawsuit against Pepsi gained an unlikely second life.

Today, many law schools use Leonard vs PepsiCo Inc. as a case study specifically in contract law. Most students seem to think John should have gotten the jet and that Pepsi could have easily set a higher points price and avoided the mess altogether. Like you said, John Leonard is now a middle-aged family man. He works as a park ranger for the National Park Services in D.C. John and Todd remain good friends and continue to go on adventures. So we love to hear that. After becoming a household name for taking on Trump in court, the law caught up to Michael Avenatti. In 2022, he was fined $11 million

and sentenced to 14 years in prison for embezzling from and defrauding his clients. The cola wars continue to rage on. In 2024, Coca-Cola continues to outsell their main rival, Pepsi. So here on the Bay Flop, we do try real hard to be positive people and always end on a silver lining. So are there any silver linings that you can think of? You said it earlier, Tyron, that he fought. You know what I mean? So shout out to John.

John's living, you know, he's living good. He can sleep good at night with his family and climb the mountains knowing that he actually tried. You know what I mean? Yeah. He really climbed mountains. Yeah, yeah, come on, climb that mountains. that he actually tried. You know what I mean? Yeah. He really climbed mountains. Yeah. Yeah.

Come on. Climb the mountains. After learning all about this, the real lesson, especially the one that I learned, is have a rich friend. If it wasn't for Todd Hoffman, none of this would have been. Nobody would have gave me $700,000 check. No matter how good my business, I could have come up with teleportation in 1990s.

And nobody, and they wouldn't have given me $7. He had one rich friend who was like, I'm gonna fund this whole thing. I got you. Have rich friends. Mm-hmm. Thanks. So now that you both know about John Leonard's pursuit of the Pepsi Jet and the never-ending bad PR Pepsi got out of it, would you consider this a baby flop, a big flop,

or a mega flop for the soda giant? It's a baby one. Yeah, for Pepsi. Yeah, for Pepsi they're just like, all right. They're just still doing one thing. Yeah, Pepsi's a Fortune 100 company. I think it was a big flop for John Leonard. I thought this was the biggest flop

for what happened in John Leonard's life. Like he's a park ranger making that medium 85,000 to 150 whatever the government GS contract on park ranger is like Pepsi is still the number two soda provider in the whole world. Okay, it is by the way, I was gonna say it's killing us one person at a time unless Pepsi decides to sponsor us and then it is the sugar of life. It is the elixir of life. Pepsi, love you. Yeah. Also, if Pepsi's listening, if you do not want me to air this episode,

I will take a $750,000 check. All of us are for sale. I'm proud of people like John Leonard because I will never be a John Leonard. I took the money and ran out of sell. I'm proud of people like John Leonard because I will never be a John Leonard. I'd have took the money and ran, I'd have sell, I'm for sale. Well thank you so much to our ever-vast and guests, Tehran Van Gauzri and Kel Mitchell for joining us here on The Big Flop and thanks to all of you for listening. Remember if you are enjoying the show, please leave us a rating and review. Also, we've already covered the infamous Crystal Pepsi Flop in our episode, It's Clear, This Ain't Workin' with Dulce Sloan, so check that out on our feed. We'll be back next week with one of the biggest science experiments gone wrong, Biosphere 2. Bye.

Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye.

Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye.

Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Wondery app or on Apple podcasts. Prime members can listen ad free on Amazon Music. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey at Wondery.com slash survey. The Big Flop is a production of Wondery and At Will Media,

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