Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by blang 2922 days ago
Yup: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Play_for_a_Billion
1 comments

> insure the payout for a US$10 million premium.

wouldn't actually giving out the $11mi to the consumer, or picking 10 consumers, create more brand awareness than promising $1bi that nobody can get?

What makes you think that nobody can get the billion?

Insurance policies require you to pay a certain amount guaranteed, then pay back a much larger amount if something unlikely happens. So Pepsi had to pay $10 million. If the right thing happened during the game then Berkshire Hathaway would have paid a billion, and some lucky consumer would have walked away a newly minted billionaire.