01/09/2026
In Samara, Russia, the Olvi gas station chain came up with an unusual promotion that quickly turned into an unexpected viral moment.
The gas station announced that anyone who arrived wearing a bikini could get free fuel. The rules did not say that the offer was only for women.
Once customers noticed the wording, some men decided to take advantage of the promotion. They began arriving at the gas station wearing bikinis so they could claim their free fuel. Some even completed the unusual look by wearing high heels.
The employees honored the promotion because the men technically followed the rules. They were wearing bikinis, which meant they met the requirements stated in the offer.
What started as a simple promotional stunt soon attracted a much larger crowd than expected. So many people showed up that the gas station had to end the promotion early.
The offer was originally supposed to run for longer, but it was stopped after only three hours because of the overwhelming number of people arriving to claim free fuel.
Photos and videos of men wearing bikinis while filling their vehicles quickly spread across the internet and went viral around the world.
But the unusual story did not end there.
The following year, a gas station in Kyiv, Ukraine, copied the same promotion. However, the same loophole appeared again because the rules did not specifically limit the offer to women.
Men in Kyiv also showed up wearing bikinis to claim free fuel.
What was meant to be a fun marketing promotion in one country became a viral stunt—and then another gas station repeated the same idea and faced the exact same loophole.