Gutsy? Yes. Smart and legal? Maybe not so much.

In a prime example of how not to use branded merchandise, an ill-fated stunt involving a low-flying plane and logoed can coolers interrupted the Gulf Coast Jam, a music festival that brought more than 22,000 people to Panama City Beach, FL. It was billed as the first major music festival since the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered events.

The three-day-long 2021 Pepsi Gulf Coast Jam, held June 4 to 6, featured acts including Lynyrd Skynyrd, Brad Paisley and Luke Bryan. It was originally set for Labor Day weekend last year, but was postponed because of the pandemic. Rendy Lovelady, executive producer of the event, told the Panama City News Herald that ticketholders at the time were given the option of getting a refund or attending a future Gulf Coast Jam. The majority chose the latter.

Nothing says Florida is open like a night of live music at the @Pepsi @GulfCoastJam, the largest music festival since the pandemic began. pic.twitter.com/z07xMrS8JM

— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) June 7, 2021

“It’s the first major event (over 20,000 people), that I’m aware of, that Billboard Magazine is aware of and that Rolling Stone Magazine is aware of (in the U.S. since COVID-19),” Lovelady told the newspaper. “After this weekend, it’s a house of cards, they just fall everywhere. There (will be) thousands of them across the country.”

Though masks weren’t required, the festival did require all guests to complete a series of COVID-19 related questions each day before entering the park. All transactions were cashless to cut down on physical contact.

Robert Ryan Gore

On Saturday, around 8:30 p.m., Robert Ryan Gore, 40, of Destin, flew a seaplane below 500 feet over the Gulf Coast Jam crowd, according to the Bay County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies added that he made a nose-dive maneuver toward the crowd and made a second pass. During the flight, Gore dropped can coolers imprinted with a website and phone number for his business, flythebeach.com.

Singer Cole Swindell was set to take the stage, but the performance was delayed until law enforcement ensured the situation was safe, according to Lovelady.

Deputies contacted Tyndall Air Force Base and Northwest Beaches International Airport to confirm that no one had permission to fly over the crowed. They also texted the phone number printed on the can cooler and told Gore to stop flying over the venue “or we will take action,” according to WHNT News 19.

During a follow-up with the sheriff’s office later, Gore said he “cleared what he did with his attorney and stated it was legal to do what he did in regards to the throwing of the [can coolers],” according to the news station. Gore eventually turned himself in to police. He’s charged with operation of an aircraft while intoxicated or in a careless, reckless manner.