What are the key legal factors present in the scenario?

Instructions

In 1999, a Seattle man took a popular soft-drink company seriously when one of its commercials made an offer of a Harrier jet, the famous high-tech jump jet used by the U.S. Marines. In a television commercial that aired in 1995, the company jokingly included the Harrier as one of the prizes that could be received with a mere 7 million company points. Although that sounds like a lot of points to get from drinking the soft drink company’s products (roughly 190 drinks a day for 100 years), the company also allowed customers to purchase points for 10 cents each.

The man did the math and discovered that the cost of the 7 million points needed for the jet was $700,000. He then put together a business plan, raised the $700,000 from friends and family, and submitted 15 points, the check, and an official order form with a demand for the Harrier jet.

The company wrote back, stating that the Harrier jet in the commercial was simply used to create a humorous and entertaining advertisement. They apologized for any misunderstanding or confusion people may have experienced and enclosed some free product coupons.

The free coupons did not satisfy the man, who then took the soft drink company to court. Finally, a federal judge for the Southern District of New York held that the company was only joking when it implied in its ad that it was giving away fighter jets. The judge noted that because the jets sell for approximately $23 million, no one could have concluded that the commercial actually offered consumers a Harrier jet. Instead, this was a classic example of a deal that was too good to be true.

Write a paper of 4–6 body pages that answers the following questions, including an in-depth explanation of the supporting rationale:

• What are the key legal factors present in the scenario?
• What are the 4 elements of a valid contract? How do they relate to the scenario in question?
• What is the objective theory of contracts?
• How does the objective theory of contracts apply to this case?
• In your own words but based on research and analysis of relevant legal concepts and cases, why do you think the court held that there was not a valid agreement in this scenario? Provide support for your position.
• Are advertisements generally considered offers? Explain.
• How does this case differ from a reward situation in which a unilateral contract is formed upon completion of the requested act?
• What recommendations (at least 2) would you make for a company considering an aggressive marketing campaign with giveaways of high value items? Explain the rationale behind each recommendation.

Your submitted assignment (200 points) must include a Word document of 4–6 body pages that contains your answers to the questions listed and a reference list of any sources that you used within your paper (cited properly in APA format).

Individual Project Rubric

Grading Criteria

Percentage

Deliverable requirements addressed; understanding of material and writer’s message and intent are clear

35%

Scholarly research which supports writer’s position is properly acknowledged and cited direct quotations may not exceed 10% of the word count of the body of the assignment deliverable (excluded title page, abstract or table of contents if used, tables, exhibits, appendices, and reference page(s). Inclusion of plagiarized content will not be tolerated and may result in adverse academic consequences.

20%

Critical thinking: Position is well justified; logical flow; examples

20%

Structure: Includes introduction and conclusion; proper paragraph format and reads as a polished, academic paper or professional presentation, as appropriate for the required assignment deliverable

10%

Mechanical: No spelling, grammatical or punctuation errors

10%

APA: Deliverable is cited properly according to the APA Publication Manual (6th ed.)

5%