Jilted Jet Admirer Takes Pepsi To The Mat

PepsiCo Inc. thought it was a pretty good joke to pretend to give away a Harrier fighter jet as part of its Pepsi Stuff promotion.

The company stopped laughing after John D.R. Leonard tried to take Pepsi up on it.

The Lynnwood, Wash., man and the Purchase, N.Y.-based company are now bottled up in a different kind of Pepsi challenge, a dispute over a Pepsi Stuff TV commercial that “offered” a Harrier jet to Pepsi drinkers. When Leonard tried to take advantage of the fictitious offer and Pepsi told him it was just a joke, Leonard told the company to stuff its refusal - and the dispute has now gone to court.

A Pepsi spokesman said the commercial was “clearly a spoof” and said Leonard is “getting carried away.”

But Leonard’s attorney said a deal’s a deal and insisted his client “is entitled to his Harrier jet.”