Pepsi Where’s My Jet? is a Netflix documentary series that features Michael Davis as John Leonard, Cindy Crawford, and Jason Fielders as Todd Hoffman. The show also features real people – John Leonard, Todd Hoffman, Michael Patti, Jeff Mordos, Michael Avenatti, and Brian Swette. The 4-episode docuseries is directed by Andrew Renzi, and the music is by Chase Deso. The cinematography is by Jeff Louis Peterman, and the editing is done by Ed Greene and Wyatt Rogowski.
The synopsis reads, “When a 20-year-old attempts to win a fighter jet in a Pepsi sweepstakes, he sets the stage for a David versus Goliath court battle for the history books.”
Pepsi Where’s My Jet Review Contains Spoilers
In the 90s, Pepsi and Coca-Cola were at war. The former was desperate to win the Cola war. That’s when the ad agency Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn suggested the company of the ‘Pepsi Points’ campaign. They created a commercial that told the youngsters that if they bought the drink and earned more points, they would get stuff in return.
The commercial was meant to increase the sale of the cold drink and, with the points, to give young people things like caps, shirts, and jackets in return. However, it’s the ending of the ad that caused them big trouble. The commercial showed a young teenager coming to school in a Harrier fighter jet. The ad ended with the boy sitting in the jet with the text mentioning the price – 7 million Pepsi Points. Unfortunately, the company failed to mention that the fighter jet was used only for commercial purposes and was a joke.
20-year-old John Leonard from Seattle was amazed by the commercial. When he saw the ad stating 7 million Pepsi Points to get a Harrier Jet, he asked his 40-year-old rich friend Todd Hoffman to help him. Leonard devised a proper business plan about how he would earn such massive points, where he would store the cans, and how they would achieve the target before the offer ended. He also researched whether buying and keeping the fighter jet is legal.
Sadly, the company didn’t think much while releasing the commercial. They were the ones to sue John. It just seemed a weird step to cover up the mess they created. The Netflix documentary Pepsi Where’s My Jet has a fun narrative style. Leonard and Hoffman are very proud of what they did in the 90s, making Pepsi rethink its ad campaigns. They share anecdotes, laugh a lot and don’t lose a chance to take a jibe at the company. We are also shown how the company tried to cover up their big mistake by making multiple alterations.
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Leonard often shares how he wanted the jet, as he has always been a dreamer. On the other hand, the people who worked for the cold drink company back then knew they goofed up big time. They still sounded slightly salty while talking about Leonard and his obsession with getting the fighter jet. To make the docuseries fun, director Andrew Renzi conducts a taste test between Pepsi and Coca-Cola by covering the names. He wants to see which drink people like the most. He wants the show to have a chill vibe.
Often, we hear Leonard say he wanted the jet. But not even once is it established why he was so adamant. Spoiler Alert: At one point, he was getting a good amount from the company. But he refused. I wish the director had pressed more on John’s obsession and reasoning to have his hands on a fighter jet back then. John did odd jobs to make his financial dreams come true. Then why would he reject such a big offer? What point did he want to make with his actions?
In the last 2 episodes, Michael Avenatti comes into the picture to help John and Todd gets what they want. Avenatti did help the duo to make their case strong, but then he asked them to follow the wrong path. Well, that wasn’t the end of the docuseries taking a serious turn. In the last episode, the director shows us how Pepsi’s false advertisement caused deadly issues earlier in the Philippines. There are pictures and videos played from the riots in the Philippines that caused deaths.
However, the show immediately takes a playful shift again by focusing on John Leonard and Todd Hoffman’s strong friendship even today. The documentary is nothing but a casual watch for the viewers. The platform is known for releasing some hard-hitting shows that will make one think. But this one is meant for amusement, except for the last episode.
The documentary series is now streaming on Netflix.
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The “original” storyboard with “700,000,000 points” shown in Episode 4 is not the board that BBDO showed Pepsi. The board had a number that was too low, exponentially lower than that, and I noted it at that very moment to a colleague at Pepsi. I noted it because it made no sense to have a number that was low when consumers could buy the points for 10 cents. Not because of potential lawsuits or fraud, but because it did not MAKE SENSE to show a number that low for the Harrier Jet (which was very obviously a joke in the commercial). My thought was that it would confuse people when they learned that points cost 10 cents. It was illogical.
It was a great pitch and a great commercial spot.
I know this because I was there at the pitch and I was the one who conceived of Pepsi Stuff and the point purchase option.