What Happened When A Kid Sued Pepsi for...A Harrier Jet
Our American Stories
iHeartPodcasts
4.3 • 737 Ratings
🗓️ 8 April 2025
⏱️ 8 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On this episode of Our American Stories, The Harrier jet might be the pride of the U.S. Marine Corps, but in the 1990s, it became the crux of one of the most bizarre lawsuits in American history. What had started as a joke in an ad turned into a serious battle over fine print. Journalist Sean Kernan shares the wild story of John Leonard vs. Pepsi—and explains why the court's findings still matter today.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is Lee Habib, and this is Our American Stories, and we tell stories about everything here on this show, including your stories. |
| 0:17.7 | Send them to Our American Stories.com. |
| 0:21.1 | They're some of our favorites. |
| 0:22.8 | And up next, a curious case of contract law. |
| 0:26.7 | In 1996, one John Leonard sued Pepsi over a promise that he saw as reneged on. |
| 0:33.2 | But that's only half of the story. |
| 0:35.3 | Here's our own Monty Montgomery to help tell the rest. |
| 0:41.3 | Court cases are serious business. |
| 0:44.3 | If I put this knit cap on, who am I? |
| 0:47.3 | I'm still Johnny Cochland with a knitcap. |
| 0:50.3 | Court cases are important. |
| 0:55.0 | If Douglas touch me, you will not be happier, Your Honor. |
| 0:58.0 | You know what? If Douglas beats you to a pulp, I'll be delighted. Get out. |
| 1:02.0 | And there's one court case in the 90s that was truly astounding. |
| 1:06.0 | And no, it's not the people versus OJ. |
| 1:10.0 | I'm talking about Leonard versus PepsiCo Inc. |
| 1:14.1 | Here's Sean Kernan of Medium with this dramatic story of deceit, twist and turns, and contract |
| 1:20.6 | law. |
| 1:25.5 | In 1996, Pepsi rolled out one of its Drink Pepsi Get Stuff campaigns. |
| 1:32.3 | It was your usual promotion where you get points for purchases that you can later use. |
| 1:37.3 | The TV ad targeted teenage and early 20s customers. |
| 1:41.3 | It showed all these cool things you could win with Pepsi points. They showed a kid |
... |
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