In 1995, PepsiCo Promised a Fighter Jet for 7 Million Points, and a Student Actually Collected Enough!

An Expensive Yet Instructive Lesson in Marketing History

In 1995, Pepsi launched a groundbreaking advertisement in the United States.

One bottle of Pepsi equals one point. If you collect 7 million Pepsi points within a year, you can exchange them for a Harrier fighter jet worth over $30 million!

This ad was undoubtedly a bold and unprecedented move.

Although it sparked a frenzy among young people, the planners believed it was an impossible task.

But who would have thought that a 21-year-old college student would actually take it seriously, rack his brains, and spend $700,000 to collect the points and approach Pepsi to redeem the fighter jet.

So, how did Pepsi, which had never prepared the “gift,” finally handle the situation?

“Playing Big” with Gimmick Marketing

In the 1990s, the marketing war between Coca-Cola and Pepsi in the United States was intense.