I’m with Cillasi, if only some clerk at Pepsi would have cashed the check. Offer and acceptance you know.
Oh-it’s 210 F.3d 88.
As a pilot, I can be considered “sane”. And as a pilot, I see nothing unreasonable about receiving an aircraft for a prize. King Schools gives away Cessnas. AOPA has been giving away various airplanes to members for years.
A few years ago I noticed that ex-Soviet MiG fighters were available for about $100,000. These jets’ main use was military bombing and shooting down of other aircraft. Suppose someone were to offer a MiG-21 as a prize? Would that be considered “unreasonable”? You know that T-38 Talon that appeared in the Pepsi commercials back in the '80s? I talked to the ground crew once. They said it cost the guy $1.2 million. Couldn’t an unrestored but flyable one (or one that would require only a relatively small amount of work in order to make it flyable) conceivably be bought for $700,000? Given that A) there are privately-owned examples of many types of military jets, and B) said examples can often be obtained for under $1 million, is it really unreasonable to expect such a prize to be delivered if the conditions required to “win” it are met? (Of course there are no surplus Harriers in private hands, but I’m talking broadly about expensive ex-military aircraft.)
If it’s reasonable to expect to win an aircraft of any type (such as those that are routinely given away by AOPA and King Schools), and if some military combat aircraft are available for purchase, and given that there are places where the winner can obtain instruction in that aircraft, then where do you draw the line?
It’s not a matter of drawing the line at a certain type of jet or estimated cost and availability. Within the context of the commercial, when you saw it, did you honestly believe Pepsi was offering the jet as a prize? Or did you realize it was intended as a joke? I have a hard time believing anyone thought it was an actual prize without being deliberately dense.
Even supposing somebody didn’t know the commercial was a joke, the official rules stated prizes must be ordered through the official catalog. There was no jet in the catalog. That should make clear that Pepsi was not offering a jet as a prize. Again, unless a person was being deliberately dense.
Hmmm… enter the Publisher’s Clearinghouse Sweepstakes – you could win millions!
Is it a joke? Granted, we all know that this has been around forever, and is truly legit if you don’t mind being put on a sucker list (I don’t participate :)).
I hate to see “open away from face” on soda bottles, but some disclaimers are a good idea.