20 Mind-Blowing Facts About Pepsi

10. Pepsi Created A Contest In Russia For Customers To Win A Car By Choosing The Right Key... But Sued A Man Who Opened A Vehicle As They Hadn't Actually Put A Key In Any Of The Bottles

FILE - This Feb. 9, 2011 file photo shows bottles of Pepsi at a grocery store in Springfield, Ill. PepsiCo reports quarterly financial results Wednesday, July 23, 2014. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman, File)
Seth Perlman/AP

In one of the strangest episodes of the PepsiCo's 125-year history, the company launched a competition to win a car in Russia in 2002 that ended in disaster.

Advertised in the city of Novosibirsk, customers who purchased a bottle of Pepsi could win a car if they were able to choose the right key for the vehicle. Yet when a man opened a car and claimed success, Pepsi instead decided to sue him - because they had in fact made it impossible to win the competition as they had not put the key for the vehicle as one of those available for choice.

Unfortunate and crafty on both sides...

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NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.