Pepsi once offered a fighter jet as a joke prize in a promotion. A student tried to claim it anyway.

The life of John Leonard was turned upside down in 1996 when he was set on trying to win a fighter jet.

Leonard's attempt to holdPepsi to its word was recounted in a new documentary, "Pepsi, Where's My Jet?"

Customers can use points accrued from buying its drinks to redeem items under the new program.

The company's TV commercial claimed that 7 million points would allow for the redemption of a $23 million fighter jet.

Leonard argued that the only problem was that the ad didn't say that it was only a joke. He tried to find a deal that would have made it one of the best bargains in the world.

Leonard realized it would be difficult to buy and store the required number of cans and bottles for the redemption of the jet. The loophole he saw was that the seven million points needed for the jet could be purchased for 10 cents per point.

The student convinced a wealthy man to bankroll his plan.

"We looked at the videotape of the commercial, and I just kept looking at it over and over and over and going, 'That is absolutely reckless ad put out there by a major corporation that knows better,'" said the actor.

In the 1994 episode of "The Simpsons," Bart Simpson chose a "joke" prize of an elephant over $10,000, much to the displeasure of radio hosts. The show was broadcast a couple of years before Leonard started.

Bart received his elephant, butPepsi refused to budge on its argument that it was a joke. The group refused to honor the advertisement.

District Judge Kimba Wood said that a claim in an advertisement did not count as a unilateral offer.

The tongue-in-cheek attitude of the commercial would not make a reasonable person conclude that a soft drink company would be giving away fighter planes as part of a promotion.

It resulted in a PR disaster at the worst possible time as a result ofPepsi escaping having to buy a harrier.

Missed opportunity

In the 1990s, Diet Coke overtook Coca-Cola as the second best-selling soda in the US, as a result of a fight between the two companies.

There were a number of scandals that the company had battled. The abandonment of "New Coke" in the 80s helped Coca-Cola recover its reputation.

The bungled stunt may have contributed to the downfall, according to the man.

Pepsi could have lassoed this kid and said: "Look, we'll take you around the country in the jet for the next year, we'll pay you a million dollars."

They could have done the right thing and said that this kid put the deal together. He got the prize after ringing the bell.