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Tom’s Guide
Tom’s Guide
Technology
Rory Mellon

This Netflix show explains a viral Super Bowl 2026 ad — here’s why I’m recommending it to my family this weekend

Netflix logo on a TV with a hand holding a remote.

It’s Super Bowl LX weekend. Sure, there’s the small matter of the Big Game, but let’s be honest, the real reason we’re watching is the ads. Loads of Super Bowl 2026 commercials are live, including one from Frontier Airlines, which they’ve called “The Big Redemption.”

So, when my family asked me for a Netflix recommendation this weekend, an occurrence so regular I could set my watch by it, one show instantly sprang to my mind: “Pepsi, Where’s My Jet?” This docuseries explores the frankly unbelievable "Leonard vs. Pepsico, Inc" court case in which 21-year-old John Leonard demanded that the soda giant buy him a fighter jet.

As part of their Super Bowl promotion, Frontier Airlines is rewarding Leonard with 7 million air miles. It’s a pretty genius marketing gimmick, and the ad itself is plenty funny, with scenes including Leonard hanging a “home sweet home”-style plate and a large dog poster on a commercial plane. After all, he needs to feel at home, as I suspect he’ll be spending an awful lot of time on Frontier Airlines planes in the coming years.

If you want to know more about Leonard’s stranger-than-fiction story, or, like my family, are just looking for a great Netflix series that you can easily binge-watch in a single weekend, here’s everything you need to know about “Pepsi, Where’s My Jet?”

What is ‘Pepsi, Where’s My Jet?” about?

In the mid-1990s, Pepsi launched what it thought would be a sales-boosting promotion in which customers could buy soda, collect points, and redeem them against prizes, from branded T-shirts to novelty sunglasses. This marketing push ultimately specualtly backfired on the company.

One commercial claimed that with 7 million points, you could get a AV-8B Harrier II jet (worth $32 million at the time). In the eyes of the Pepsi marketers, it was clearly a tongue-in-cheek joke, one that nobody would actually take seriously. Who would actually think that buying enough Pepsi soda would mean you were entitled to a military-grade aircraft?

However, when business student John Leonard did the math, he uncovered that the required number of points would need an investment of “only” $700,000. So, he brought in a group of investors, secured the 7 million points, and demanded that Pepsi give him his jet. This kick-started a “David and Goliath” legal battle that went all the way to federal court.

Here’s why I’m recommending this Netflix show this weekend

(Image credit: Netflix)

“Pepsi, Where’s My Jet?” has all the ingredients for an entertaining docuseries. For starters, its true story is just ludicrous enough that when you first hear it, you assume it must be fiction. It’s also an extremely well-made documentary, with a zippy editing style, and loads of loving nods to ‘90s culture and iconography, which is bang on the current nostalgia trend.

Another element that I enjoy about “Pepsi, Where’s My Jet?” is that it’s generally lower-stakes. Many of Netflix’s docuseries fall into the true crime genre. I know explorations of unthinkable crimes are highly popular, but I personally find the trend of turning real tragedies into salacious series, with each harrowing event dialed up to wring out the most shocking horror, a little bleak. The more comical nature of this doc is better on my palate.

It’s also very well-paced, comprised of just four episodes that run no longer than 45 minutes (and two of them clock in below the 40-minute mark). This prevents the story from being stretched beyond its breaking point, with the smallest details told and retold. It’s just a whole load of fun, and can be easily polished off in just a single sitting without wasting your time.

So, with Frontier Airlines’ Super Bowl ad being shared across social media, and “Pepsi, Where’s My Jet?” suddenly becoming topical more than three years after its launch, it’s definitely the Netflix show I’m recommending my family (and anybody reading this) watch this weekend.

Watch "Pepsi, Where's My Jet?" on Netflix now


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