Pepsi, Where's My Jet?

Pepsi, Where's My Jet?
Promotional poster
GenreDocumentary
Directed byAndrew Renzi
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes4
Production
Executive producers
  • Andrew Renzi
  • Andrew Corkin
  • Nick Boak
  • Theo James
  • Andrew Fried
  • Jordan Wynn
  • Dane Lillegard
  • Sarina Roma
Running time36–43 minutes
Production companyBoardwalk Pictures
Original release
NetworkNetflix
ReleaseNovember 17, 2022 (2022-11-17)

Pepsi, Where's My Jet? is an American Netflix original docuseries directed by Andrew Renzi. Its story explores the Leonard v. Pepsico, Inc. court case. It premiered on Netflix on November 17, 2022.[1]

Background

Main article: Leonard v. Pepsico, Inc.

In the mid-1990s, PepsiCo aired a series of commercials aiming to promote their Pepsi products and associated point system.[2] According to this system, purchasing Pepsi products allowed customers to collect points that could be used to claim prizes such as T-shirts or sunglasses.[2] One commercial showed that, for seven million points, the prize was an AV-8B Harrier II jet. Its value at the time was estimated at US$32 million.[2][a]

While the commercial was tongue-in-cheek, it lacked a disclaimer indicating so.[4] John Leonard, a 21-year-old business student in 1996, found that it was possible to purchase Pepsi Points for 10 cents each: thus seven million points cost US$700,000.[1][b] The rules only required a minimum of 15 Pepsi Points worth of physical tags from Pepsi products beyond the purchased points.[1]

Leonard convinced five investors to help him buy the remaining points.[2] One of these investors was Todd Hoffman.[4][5] Leonard sent his points and a check to claim the jet.[2] PepsiCo denied his request and argued that the commercial was a joke.[2][4] They pointed out that the jet was not an item offered in their catalog of products that can be obtained with Pepsi Points.[6]

After initially being sued by PepsiCo in the Southern District of New York, in an effort to establish a favorable venue, Leonard filed a lawsuit in Miami accusing PepsiCo of breach of contract, fraud, deceptive and unfair trade practices, and misleading advertising.[6] He hired political strategist—and later celebrity attorney—Michael Avenatti to be a part of his team.[1][5] Meanwhile, the company requested that Leonard's claim be deemed frivolous.[2] The lawsuit became known as Leonard v. Pepsico, Inc. and was eventually transferred to a federal court in Manhattan in the Southern District of New York.[6]

In September 1997, the Pentagon announced that the jets were not for sale and would need to be "demilitarized" before being offered to the public.[6] In August 1999, judge Kimba Wood ruled in favor of PepsiCo with the argument that "[n]o objective person could reasonably have concluded that the commercial actually offered consumers a Harrier jet".[6] The company later updated their commercial to increase the number of Pepsi Points required for the jet from seven million to 700 million.[2]

Production

The title of the series was inspired by the comedy film Dude, Where's My Car? (2000).[1] Director Andrew Renzi was initially offered Pepsi, Where's My Jet? as a work of fiction, but shifted to making a documentary after contacting Leonard, who by that point was working as a park ranger in Alaska.[4] Following the success of Tiger King amid the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020, producers became interested in making more documentaries about "weird historical stories".[4]

Leonard had intended to "keep [the lawsuit] back there, as something funny that happened a long time ago" and turned down several producers who wanted to work with him, but he accepted to work with Renzi because he felt that Renzi was "really sincere".[4] Leonard also discussed the matter with Hoffman, with whom he remained friends, and Hoffman told him that the story "needs to be told."[4] The relationship between Leonard and Hoffman was Renzi's "guiding post" while making the series.[4] Leonard's strategist and legal consultant Michael Avenatti filmed his segments while under house arrest for attempted extortion.[4]

Summary

Over four episodes, Pepsi, Where's My Jet? features interviews with Leonard, Hoffman, PepsiCo executives, and public figures such as Cindy Crawford and Manny Pacquiao.[1][5] It includes reenactments with actors portraying younger versions of Leonard and Hoffman.[1][5] The fourth episode also documents Pepsi's Number Fever promotional campaign in the Philippines which resulted in at least five deaths in 1992.[7][8]

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byOriginal release date
1"The Kid from Seattle"Andrew RenziNovember 17, 2022 (2022-11-17)
2"Let's Make a Deal"Andrew RenziNovember 17, 2022 (2022-11-17)
3"The Bad News Bears"Andrew RenziNovember 17, 2022 (2022-11-17)
4"Landing the Plane"Andrew RenziNovember 17, 2022 (2022-11-17)

See also

Notes

  1. ^ $64,156,200 in 2024 dollars[3]
  2. ^ $1,403,400 in 2024 dollars[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Fu, Eddie (October 24, 2022). "A Marketing Blitz Fizzes Out in Pepsi, Where's My Jet? Trailer: Watch". Consequence. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Haoues, Rachid (January 29, 2015). "1996: Man sues Pepsi for not giving him the Harrier Jet from its commercial". CBS News. Retrieved May 23, 2016.
  3. ^ a b 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Heritage, Stuart (November 16, 2022). "'Pepsi weren't counting on a dreamer like me': the student who sued a soft drink giant for a $23m fighter jet". The Guardian. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d Chapman, Wilson (October 24, 2022). "Netflix Tackles the Single Dumbest Moment of the Cola Wars in 'Pepsi, Where's My Jet?'". IndieWire. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  6. ^ a b c d e Mikkelson, David (May 7, 2011). "Pepsi Harrier Giveaway". Snopes. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  7. ^ "Pepsi, Where's My Jet?: Season 1, Episode 4". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  8. ^ Maysh, Jeff (August 4, 2020). "Number Fever: The Pepsi Contest That Became a Deadly Fiasco". Bloomberg News. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
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