# Pepsi, Where's My Jet?
**Pepsi, Where's My Jet?** is a four-part Netflix documentary miniseries, directed by Andrew Renzi and released on November 17, 2022, that recounts the 1990s legal battle between college student John Leonard and PepsiCo over a television commercial that appeared to offer a Harrier fighter jet for 7,000,000 Pepsi Points.[1](https://jlpeterman.com/pepsi-wheres-my-jet/) • [2](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/leonard-v-pepsico) The underlying case, *Leonard v. Pepsico, Inc.*, 88 F. Supp. 2d 116 (S.D.N.Y. 1999), is now a staple of United States contracts law teaching.[3](https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp2/88/116/2579076/) • [2](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/leonard-v-pepsico)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Subject | The Leonard v. PepsiCo dispute over a 1995–1996 "Pepsi Stuff" commercial offering a Harrier jet for 7,000,000 Pepsi Points[2](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/leonard-v-pepsico) |
| Release | Netflix, November 17, 2022; four episodes of roughly 36 to 43 minutes each[1](https://jlpeterman.com/pepsi-wheres-my-jet/) • [4](https://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/2022/11/pepsi-wheres-my-jet-netflix-review/) |
| Director | Andrew Renzi[1](https://jlpeterman.com/pepsi-wheres-my-jet/) |
| Central figures | John Leonard, a 20-year-old student from Seattle, and his investor Todd Hoffman[5](https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/pepsi-wheres-my-jet-lawsuit-netflix-b2228232.html) |
| Court outcome | Summary judgment for PepsiCo by Judge Kimba Wood (S.D.N.Y. 1999), affirmed by the Second Circuit in 2000[3](https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp2/88/116/2579076/) • [6](https://tortwell.com/cases/210-f3d-88) |
| Reception | 83% Tomatometer and 75% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes; Metascore 62 on Metacritic[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/pepsi_wheres_my_jet/s01) • [8](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/pepsi-wheres-my-jet/critic-reviews/) |
## The Pepsi Stuff campaign
In the mid-1990s, during the "cola wars" with [Coca-Cola](https://www.edgepedia.org/coca-cola), Pepsi ran the "Pepsi Stuff" promotion, in which customers collected Pepsi Points from cans and bottles and redeemed them for branded merchandise: a T-shirt cost 75 points, sunglasses 175 points, and a leather jacket 1,450 points.[5](https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/pepsi-wheres-my-jet-lawsuit-netflix-b2228232.html) • [9](https://www.whattowatch.com/features/fact-vs-fiction-is-pepsi-wheres-my-jet-a-true-story) The campaign's television commercial ended with a teenage character landing a [Harrier jump jet](https://www.edgepedia.org/harrier-jump-jet) in front of a high school and saying "Sure beats the bus!", over on-screen text reading "Harrier fighter" and "7,000,000 Pepsi points."[5](https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/pepsi-wheres-my-jet-lawsuit-netflix-b2228232.html) The ad carried no disclaimer stating that the jet was a joke, and the jet was not listed in the official catalog or order form.[10](https://www.casemine.com/judgement/us/5914baf3add7b04934793d8f)
The Harrier was a British-designed military aircraft used in the United States primarily by the Marine Corps. Sources differ on its value: court-related teaching materials put it at approximately $23 million, while the Guardian and Tom's Guide give $32 million.[11](https://law.depaul.edu/admission/visit/Documents/Contracts%20Cauble.pdf) • [12](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/nov/18/pepsi-wheres-my-jet-review-the-oddly-dull-tale-of-a-man-who-sued-a-soft-drink-for-a-weaponised-plane) • [13](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/netflix/this-netflix-show-explains-a-viral-super-bowl-2026-ad-heres-why-im-recommending-it-to-my-family-this-weekend)
## Leonard's attempt to redeem the jet
John Leonard, a 20-year-old student from Seattle, took the commercial seriously and set out to assemble 7 million points.[5](https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/pepsi-wheres-my-jet-lawsuit-netflix-b2228232.html) Because Pepsi also allowed points to be purchased for 10 cents apiece, the effective price of the jet came to about $700,000.[12](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/nov/18/pepsi-wheres-my-jet-review-the-oddly-dull-tale-of-a-man-who-sued-a-soft-drink-for-a-weaponised-plane) Leonard enlisted Todd Hoffman, a multimillionaire businessman he had met on a climbing trip, who helped fund the effort.[5](https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/pepsi-wheres-my-jet-lawsuit-netflix-b2228232.html)
Leonard submitted an order form, 15 original Pepsi Points, and a check for $700,008.50 to purchase the remaining points, stating in an accompanying letter that the check was "expressly for obtaining a new Harrier jet as advertised in your Pepsi Stuff commercial."[10](https://www.casemine.com/judgement/us/5914baf3add7b04934793d8f) • [14](https://madisonian.net/downloads/contracts/leonard.pdf) According to the documentary, Leonard had called the Pentagon to confirm that a civilian could legally own a Harrier stripped of armaments, and had plans to exhibit the aircraft at air shows or rent it for films and advertisements.[5](https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/pepsi-wheres-my-jet-lawsuit-netflix-b2228232.html) Pepsi refused to deliver the jet.[5](https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/pepsi-wheres-my-jet-lawsuit-netflix-b2228232.html)
## The litigation
Pepsi struck first in court. After Leonard's side threatened legal action, Pepsi filed suit in July 1996 seeking a declaratory judgment that it had no obligation to furnish a Harrier Jet; Leonard filed his own suit the following month seeking specific performance.[5](https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/pepsi-wheres-my-jet-lawsuit-netflix-b2228232.html) • [10](https://www.casemine.com/judgement/us/5914baf3add7b04934793d8f)
Judge [Kimba Wood](https://www.edgepedia.org/kimba-wood) of the Southern District of New York granted PepsiCo summary judgment in 1999. Applying the objective theory of contract formation, she held that the commercial was not a binding offer because no reasonable person could have concluded that it seriously offered a Harrier jet; the court described the jet's military functions and called its depiction as a way to get to school "clearly not serious."[3](https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp2/88/116/2579076/) • [15](https://www.bu.edu/law/files/2018/08/Pepsico-Case-small.pdf) The court also noted that the alleged sale would invoke the statute of frauds, requiring a signed writing that the commercial and order form did not supply.[16](https://southernlawjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Article-9.pdf) The Second Circuit affirmed in 2000.[6](https://tortwell.com/cases/210-f3d-88)
After Leonard's attempt, Pepsi twice altered the commercial, first raising the jet's price to 700,000,000 Pepsi Points and then adding the caption "(Just Kidding)"; the court found this alteration not probative of the seriousness of the original offer.[3](https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp2/88/116/2579076/) • [17](https://southernlawjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/SLJ-Vol-32.pdf)
## The documentary
Renzi's series mixes interviews with Leonard, Hoffman, Pepsi executives, and others with playful 1990s-styled recreations, period pop music, and a running gag in which every interview subject takes the Pepsi Challenge blind taste test.[4](https://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/2022/11/pepsi-wheres-my-jet-netflix-review/) • [18](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/pepsi-wheres-my-jet-tv-review-2022) It emphasizes points generally underreported in retellings, including that Pepsi filed the first lawsuit and that Leonard had genuinely planned what to do with the aircraft.[5](https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/pepsi-wheres-my-jet-lawsuit-netflix-b2228232.html) One episode covers a Pepsi promotion in the Philippines, the "Pepsi 349" incident, which the series uses to explore the dangers of false advertising.[18](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/pepsi-wheres-my-jet-tv-review-2022) The series also covers Leonard's brief engagement of lawyer [Michael Avenatti](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-avenatti), later imprisoned for defrauding [Stormy Daniels](https://www.edgepedia.org/stormy-daniels) among other felony convictions, and Hoffman's reaction to him.[12](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/nov/18/pepsi-wheres-my-jet-review-the-oddly-dull-tale-of-a-man-who-sued-a-soft-drink-for-a-weaponised-plane)
Critics were broadly positive. The Guardian found the story too slight for four episodes but acknowledged the case's place in legal teaching; RogerEbert.com praised the series for connecting the anecdote to the broader question of corporate responsibility in advertising.[12](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/nov/18/pepsi-wheres-my-jet-review-the-oddly-dull-tale-of-a-man-who-sued-a-soft-drink-for-a-weaponised-plane) • [18](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/pepsi-wheres-my-jet-tv-review-2022)
## Legacy
*Leonard v. Pepsico* is taught in United States law schools as a leading example of the objective theory of offers and of the distinction between binding offers and puffery (exaggerated advertising claims not taken as literal fact).[2](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/leonard-v-pepsico) • [5](https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/pepsi-wheres-my-jet-lawsuit-netflix-b2228232.html) The story regained public attention in February 2026, when [Frontier Airlines](https://www.edgepedia.org/frontier-airlines)' Super Bowl LX commercial "The Big Redemption" rewarded Leonard with 7 million air miles, a nod to the 7 million Pepsi Points he never redeemed for a jet.[13](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/netflix/this-netflix-show-explains-a-viral-super-bowl-2026-ad-heres-why-im-recommending-it-to-my-family-this-weekend)
## References
1. [Pepsi Where's My Jet? – Jeff Louis Peterman, cinematographer](https://jlpeterman.com/pepsi-wheres-my-jet/)
2. [Pepsi Court Case Explainer – Leonard v. Pepsico, Netflix Tudum](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/leonard-v-pepsico)
3. [Leonard v. Pepsico, Inc., 88 F. Supp. 2d 116 (S.D.N.Y. 1999), Justia](https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp2/88/116/2579076/)
4. [Why Pepsi, Where's My Jet? is irresistible, reality blurred](https://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/2022/11/pepsi-wheres-my-jet-netflix-review/)
5. [Pepsi: They thought no one could drink enough to win a military jet, The Independent](https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/pepsi-wheres-my-jet-lawsuit-netflix-b2228232.html)
6. [John D.R. Leonard v. Pepsico, Inc., 210 F.3d 88 (2d Cir. 2000), Tortwell](https://tortwell.com/cases/210-f3d-88)
7. [Pepsi, Where's My Jet?: Season 1, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/pepsi_wheres_my_jet/s01)
8. [Pepsi, Where's My Jet? critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/pepsi-wheres-my-jet/critic-reviews/)
9. [Is Pepsi, Where's My Jet a true story?, What to Watch](https://www.whattowatch.com/features/fact-vs-fiction-is-pepsi-wheres-my-jet-a-true-story)
10. [Leonard v. Pepsico, Inc. (S.D.N.Y. 1999), CaseMine](https://www.casemine.com/judgement/us/5914baf3add7b04934793d8f)
11. [Contracts teaching materials, DePaul University College of Law](https://law.depaul.edu/admission/visit/Documents/Contracts%20Cauble.pdf)
12. [Pepsi, Where's My Jet? review, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/nov/18/pepsi-wheres-my-jet-review-the-oddly-dull-tale-of-a-man-who-sued-a-soft-drink-for-a-weaponised-plane)
13. [This Netflix show explains a viral Super Bowl 2026 ad, Tom's Guide](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/netflix/this-netflix-show-explains-a-viral-super-bowl-2026-ad-heres-why-im-recommending-it-to-my-family-this-weekend)
14. [John D.R. Leonard v. Pepsico, Inc., opinion PDF](https://madisonian.net/downloads/contracts/leonard.pdf)
15. [Leonard v. Pepsico, Inc., case PDF, Boston University School of Law](https://www.bu.edu/law/files/2018/08/Pepsico-Case-small.pdf)
16. [Statute of frauds analysis, Southern Law Journal Vol. 32](https://southernlawjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Article-9.pdf)
17. [Southern Law Journal Vol. 32](https://southernlawjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/SLJ-Vol-32.pdf)
18. [Pepsi, Where's My Jet? movie review, RogerEbert.com](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/pepsi-wheres-my-jet-tv-review-2022)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Food, customs, and everyday culture › Food, cooking and hospitality › Beverages and drink culture › Soft drinks and non-alcoholic beverages › Soft drink brands and companies*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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