I won it 3 days after the contest started with only 2 meals. So, some guy got some investors and bought 1MM Pepsi points and got in touch with Pepsi and said “send me the jet.” Pepsi obviously didn’t have a Harrier jet so they settled for some cash and a hard-learned lesson about making sure your creative agency is working closely with legal and promotions agencies. I don’t recall what the price for 1MM points was,īut it was way less than the cost of a Harrier jet. They read the contest rules (legal fine lines) and found you could buy Pepsi points without having to actually buy Pepsi. I remember watching this commercial (I was 10-15 yrs old at the time, somewhere in that range) and turning to my dad and saying “someone’s going to figure out how to get 1MM Pepsi points.” The implication being, lol, this is obviously impossible you could never collect this many points. They made a commercial that was meant to be humorous and it said Harrier Jet: 1,000,000 Pepsi points after showcasing a bunch of things you could get with much smaller number of points. I still eat McDonald's to this day of course, but only just their breakfast. Still, it's helped finance a lot of fun and memories, so no real regrets. I still have a bit left, but in hindsight I probably should have been more disciplined with it. Lost a lot during the crash in 2008, then would pull out a few thousand here and there over the years for travel, electronics, etc. The remainder of the money was put into mutual funds. Riding 4-wheelers turned into a big family hobby, so it was money well spent. I think I had been pushing my dad to upgrade to DSL at the time, so this helped seal the deal. We went on a bit of a shopping spree, buying a few ATVs, a trailer to pull them, a new computer, clothes, etc. My parents handled the money cause I was underage. They also put my name on the board outside: "Congrats royalewithcheese $100k winner.bagged ice $0.79." I was pretty stoked to make it up there with bagged ice! I also went to the store and was presented one of those giant checks and did an interview for the local newspaper. I logged on everyday until one day, 2 weeks later, I was listed as "Confirmed." It finally felt real and I remember yelling and dancing around the house!Ī week later, I got the actual check. I was given a link to a website, and sure enough my name was listed as "Pending". I ate my now cold meal and left the restaurant that night still not knowing how legit any of this was. My hands were shaking as I tore open the envelope and opened the letter.$100k! Darn! But yet awesome. They were giving away 5 million-dollar prizes and 50 $100k ones. I then had to open an envelop that said whether I won $100k or $1 million. They kept using the word "potential" so I was still skeptical, but thats because they had to do a background check to verify no immediate family worked for McDonald's or had prior knowledge of this giveaway. They read some more official stuff and I had to sign a few things. They had predetermined that the first person to walk in the door at that time on that date was the instant winner, and that person was me! Turns out this random McDonald's in fairly rural America had been chosen as one of the 52 sites for the giveaway. I thought it was just a joke, some kind of candid camera thing, but we agreed to sit down with them. One had a camcorder, the other 2 had clipboards, and they started reading a script to me, saying I was the potential winner of the McDonald's instant winner game and to come sit down and talk to them. I turned around and 3 official-looking McDonald's employees were there. As I was waiting in line to order, someone tapped me on my shoulder. I was there with my family, and I was the first one out of the vehicle and into the store. In 2001, I won $100,000 from McDonald's during their Instant Winner sweepstakes. Follow us on Twitter or Like us on Facebook!įacebook Twitter Instagram Calendar Please check out our Rules and FAQs.Email us at Step-by-step guide to doing an AMA.See more on our comment removals policy here.Attempting to bypass this rule by adding a ? to a non question will result in a permanent ban.All initial responses to posters must contain a properly punctuated question.Requests should be posted in /r/IAmARequests.See here for tips concerning proof and examples.If it must remain confidential, you can submit proof on our website so we can verify you and your claims. Proof should be included in the text of the post when you start your AMA.Explanation and examples of this rule can be found here.Something uncommon that plays a central role in your life, or.Consider supporting our PatreonĪMAs are scheduled in Eastern Time (GMT -0400). Submit an AMA Request an AMA Please check out our Rules and FAQs Click here to schedule an AMA on our calendar.
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