Dr. Pepper Ten: It’s ‘Not for Women,’ Macho Marketing Campaign Says
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Dr Pepper Snapple Group
Would many women want a soft drink that was packaged in gunmetal grey and silver bullets? Probably not, but that’s the whole point of the marketing for Dr Pepper Ten, the new, 10-calorie soft drink aimed at men. A national ad campaign rolled out today proudly says the drink is “not for women.”
The beverage was developed after research from the Dr Pepper Snapple Group found that men apparently are reluctant to drink diet drinks that don’t seem macho enough.
Unlike Diet Dr Pepper, Dr Pepper Ten has calories and sugar, and rather than the dainty tan bubbles on the diet can, Ten will be wrapped in aforementioned gunmetal grey packaging.
Continuing the men-only theme, there’s a Dr Pepper Ten Facebook page – ostensibly for men only – which includes an app that dispenses “man’ments” such as “Thou Shalt Not Pucker Up. Kissy faces are never manly,” and “Thou Shalt Not Make a ‘Man-Gagement’ Album. That is all.”
TV commercials are heavy on the machismo, including one spot that shows muscular men in the jungle battling snakes and bad guys and appearing to shoot lasers at each other.
“Hey ladies. Enjoying the film? Of course not. Because this is our movie and this is our soda,” a man says as he attempts to pour the soda into a glass during a bumpy ATV ride. “You can keep the romantic comedies and lady drinks. We’re good.”
But will the campaign be so off-putting to women that it hurts Dr Pepper’s other women-friendly products?
Already today some comments on the Ten Facebook page were less than glowing, with several female posters expressing the sentiment that the campaign was sexist.
Wrote one poster: “It’s wrong because it’s not only targeting males but is offensive to women. You can target males without insulting women …”
Another wrote: “Not for women?’ Most moronic slogan. Ever. Which advertising idiot are you going to have to fire when you start losing record sales?”
But others posters encouraged the detractors to lighten up.
“This is great advertisement. Guys will think ‘Hell, yeah, a drink for me,’ and you will have the women saying, ’I'm going to drink it just to prove someone wrong,” wrote one male commenter, while others said the campaign was all in good fun.
Dave Fleming, the director of marketing for the company, told Advertising Age, an industry publication, that he was not out to alienate women, and that the goal was “to be direct and have fun.
“Did we have a conversation about how far we wanted to go with this message? Absolutely,” he said in an interview in February when the campaign was in testing. “But we did the research, and it scored well with men and women.”
Jim Treblicock, executive vice president of marketing for the company, said about 40 percent of people who have tried the soda so far are women. The drink was tested and promoted in six markets across the nation before being widely rolled out.
“Women get the joke. ‘Is this really for men or really for women?’ is a way to start the conversation that can spread and get people engaged in the product,” he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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And if it said, “Not for African Americans!” What then?
Posted by: susan | October 11, 2011, 2:24 am 2:24 am
Where’s your sense of humor? You wouldn’t find an issue with this if you weren’t looking for something to complain about.
Posted by: Matt | October 11, 2011, 3:33 pm 3:33 pm
Dr. Pepper is vile in it’s diet and regular forms. I could care less how sexist their marketing is. I never bought it before and I’m not buying it now.
Posted by: Lilith | October 11, 2011, 4:06 pm 4:06 pm
It seems that America, like our friends the Saudis and the Chinese, lovese sexism.
You can say anything you want about women. Nothing is off limits.
But what if the drink said “not for men.” or “not for Jews” or “not for Mexicans.”? Would that be ok? I am starting to hate the corporate establishment and all of the MEN who control it (97% of corporate elites are men).
Posted by: Leah | October 11, 2011, 6:23 pm 6:23 pm
When does murder become funny? Rape?
If something as wrong as sexism is “funny,” how far will we go?
Yo G, get it… I blasted some sucka cops on the way to the store and had my way with that bitch store-clerk… but I always drink Dr. Pep, cas he’s my man!
Dr. Peppa, it’s gangsta.
Posted by: NotHere | October 12, 2011, 3:22 am 3:22 am
Targeting women for an online “shooting gallery”? Sounds like hate crime to me.
Posted by: Susan | October 12, 2011, 6:06 pm 6:06 pm
Sexism in advertising?! NOOOO!! I am shocked and appalled!! Also, water is wet and better for you than any damn soda. Sadly, masculinity and femininity have been under assault for so long by corporate sleazevertisers that there is an army of insecure 12-80 year olds who will buy anything they are told, if they think it will make them seem “normal”. Toss in a healthy dose of marginalizing and isolating the freaks who don’t define themselves by their consumer habits, and you have a nice wasteland called the US Empire of Greed. Peace to the 99%ers
Posted by: alex | October 14, 2011, 1:41 pm 1:41 pm
Being on top is pretty awesome. but seriously. if they advertised the same product in a pink can and said “it’s not for men” no one would care in the slightest. Women don’t need to be included in everything, its humor.
Stan: I want to have babies.
Reg: You want to have babies?!?!
Stan: It’s every man’s right to have babies if he wants them.
Reg: But … you can’t HAVE babies!
Stan: Don’t you oppress me!
Reg: I’m not oppressing you, Stan. You haven’t got a womb! Where’s the fetus gonna gestate? You gonna keep it in a box?
GET OVER IT!
Posted by: Ben F | October 14, 2011, 10:54 pm 10:54 pm
Would people be nearly as up in arms about this if they had targeted it for women saying “It’s not for the guys”?
I highly doubt it.
Posted by: Szezs | October 15, 2011, 9:40 am 9:40 am
Actually, people should be just as “up in arms” if they had targeted women saying “it’s not for men”. Either one is sexist. Just because you say you “highly doubt it” doesn’t make this advertising right. Putting aside the obvious in the ad being against women, it is also sexist against men. Coloring the can grey because “that’s manly”, showing action movie sequences, the “man’ments”; “Thou Shalt Not Pucker Up. Kissy faces are never manly,” and “Thou Shalt Not Make a ‘Man-Gagement’ Album. That is all.” So if you make a kissy face, you’re not a man, if you’re a man engaged (to a woman or man), making an album will make you less of a man. Either way, what they’re saying is, ‘Drink our soda or you’re not a man’.
Posted by: Jay | October 15, 2011, 4:49 pm 4:49 pm
Anyone who is in any way involved in marketing known how risky (or down right idiotic) it is to blatantly offend the largest consumer in north America. Who do you think is buying a majority of the soda in this country? Who does the shopping? If they want to offend women, well, let that be a lesson to them. Don’t insult the customer.
Posted by: Zippy | October 15, 2011, 8:37 pm 8:37 pm
Lol, what Zippy said.
Posted by: 456743 | October 16, 2011, 12:48 am 12:48 am
This is a moronic campaign slogan.
There are commercial that make men look like idiots while they’re wives look smart and some other “girls only” adverts. I think they should all stop.
Like on poster said you can target men/women without offending the other sex.
Posted by: Crondoan | October 16, 2011, 11:34 pm 11:34 pm
never thought (DR PEPPER) was a drink for anyone less lone me (MR Pepper)that’s not a selling name that set it as refreshing to me. If women drink this or not couldn’t care less all these calorie drinks state one is a sissy,Pusey in the crowd..
Posted by: huffanpuff | October 18, 2011, 10:34 am 10:34 am
I am a man, and I am also in the military. I think the over the top commercialized idea of masculinity is dangerous. Yeah, it’s all in good fun and ill admit it’s humorous. But when you have a generation of un-initiated, insecure young men, who jump in with whatever the popular notion is, it could be a real problem. Real masculinity is authentic, this type of thought is just a way of hiding. Mainstream men are having less and less depth these days, I would not buy this product.
Posted by: Ben | October 23, 2011, 7:43 pm 7:43 pm
I think Dr Pepper made a HUGE mistake by making this commercial. I don’t think the average man is going to drink Dr Pepper 10 just because the ad says its made only for them. Women definitely will not be purchasing this product. Who does that leave? A very small percentage. I think Dr Pepper will find that this ad has done nothing but hurt the sales of all of their products.
Posted by: Melissa | November 3, 2011, 12:41 pm 12:41 pm
I’m not bothered by this…
A chocolate bar in the UK/Ireland called “Yorkie” has been using the slogan, “It’s not for girls” since 2001… In 2006 a special edition that WAS for girls was sold, wrapped in pink.
People are getting overly PC for no reason.. Chill out….
Posted by: Lo | November 23, 2011, 5:10 am 5:10 am
I am definitely a woman, and let me tell you, the commercial had me laughing so hard at 3:30a.m. that I signed online to look up what others are saying about it. This comments section is depressing. The reaction you’re having is so lame – lighten up! It’s funny, if it wasn’t funny people wouldn’t be feeling so guilty and up-in-arms over it. Is it ‘wrong’? Of course it is! But that’s the humor, and if you can’t laugh at the He-Man Woman-Haters sipping their diet cola, then you need to just stop watching television.
Posted by: Pynk | November 24, 2011, 4:37 am 4:37 am
I don’t think it could say “women only” either. They’d have to be more discreet. Like maybe show a male being too stupid to open the can and then his savvy wife or daughter opens it, or him consuming it in secret from a female’s stock. Maybe show a woman drinking it while being incredibly feminine — so you know it’s definitely not for men. Or it’s stocked in the female products aisle!
You know, like a lot of things marketed for women.
Posted by: Ernest | November 27, 2011, 4:29 am 4:29 am
It may be the late night I had last night (yay finals week!) but this commercial keeps playing while I’m trying to watch the Army-Navy game, and frankly, it’s annoying the hell out of me. I’m about to turn the game off because of it. What’s offending me isn’t that the soda is being marketed toward men; even the annoying slogan at the end isn’t that bad. What’s getting me is the trite and simplistic gender roles that are being used to make the point. “Enjoying the movie, ladies? Of course you aren’t!” …uh, I like action movies best. What are you trying to say here? It may be silly to get so annoyed over a commercial, but there you have it.
Posted by: Stephanie | December 10, 2011, 4:11 pm 4:11 pm
lifetime is television for women but men dont complain…..
Posted by: Scott | December 20, 2011, 12:06 am 12:06 am
It seems stupid to me to ignore 50% of the population in your campaign for something both sexes can enjoy, but I can understand why. Still, the reverse psychology seemed to work on me; I want to drink it just in spite of them. I say touche, Dr. Pepper, touche.
Posted by: Kitty | December 24, 2011, 1:38 pm 1:38 pm
The reason no one would care about a pink can labeled “not for men” does not make this particular ad acceptable – women have been historically discriminated against, viewed lesser than men and at one point in time could not own property, vote or work in certain fields…while many of us don’t experience this sexism quite as obviously, it does not revoke this historical reality. White men have and continue to dominate most facets of life – it benefits no one to reiterate sexist beliefs even if they are clearly for comic affect. Besides soda is terrible for us, boycott that liquid manure
Posted by: Torpor | January 2, 2012, 8:16 pm 8:16 pm
Yeah…..its funny….haha. I guess the new ads these days are geared more towards society rather than people. Society is pretty much equal opportunity sexcism. So let the ad campaigns say what they want and laugh at them. Then be people and individuals and buy what you want and like. The new generations will be ok even with these stupid ads so long as we teach them how things are supposed to be. That what they see in ads aren’t meant for reality and should be taken for what they are….ads. Sometimes they are educational. Like this one, just look at your kids and say, “You see what they are doing?…Good, don’t be like that.” Anyways, thats just my two cents.
Posted by: Faloren | January 4, 2012, 12:54 am 12:54 am
The campaign isnt the bad idea, its the product and/or the audience this is aimed at, insecure men. Whats the point? If you are looking to cut back on calories drink the diet version. Having 10 calories and saying its not for women doesnt make it any less of a diet soda. Just like Pepsi One. Dumb.
Posted by: Jake | January 5, 2012, 8:55 am 8:55 am
IT SAYS THERE ARE 25 COMMENTS WHERE IS MINE
Posted by: Jon Erickson | January 5, 2012, 5:05 pm 5:05 pm
“lifetime is television for women but men dont complain…..”
Spike TV is television for men but Women don’t complain.
Moving on,
this ad is stupid. Dr. Pepper made their point with the first 20 seconds of the ad. The “not for women” slogan at the end was Senseless and redundant
Posted by: Beni | January 9, 2012, 2:08 pm 2:08 pm
Did they not consider that this might be offesive to some women? Making a super manly commercial is fine. But to say “Not for women” is 1 part idiotic and 1 part rude.
Posted by: Stacey | January 15, 2012, 8:56 pm 8:56 pm
“Spike TV is television for men but Women don’t complain.
You know Spike TV used to be called television for men or guys, you know like Lifetime is television for women but they were made to remove that slogan. Hmmm…double standard? Look my masculinity doesn’t hinge on what I drink and the commercial isn’t going to make me buy the drink. I’m more annoyed by the backlash against it. How many commercials are out there that make men look like complete idiots? A father and son making paste socks because they don’t like the way theirs fit, a guy who isn’t allowed to eat a type of yogurt (Dannon I think) because it was marketed for women ie. his girlfriend. I mean just a lot of commercials that make men look stupid sure they don’t come out and say “not for men” but they might as well. I’d love to see a commercial that made women look like complete morons and have their husbands or boyfriends come in and pat them on the head and save the day. Wonder what kind of reaction that would get?
Posted by: Bruce | January 19, 2012, 1:34 am 1:34 am
I don’t particularly care for this commercial.As angry as this commercial makes me due to the obvious sexist jokes, I still agree with Bruce’s comment on Jan 19. I believe it should all stop. WE say it’s humor, but when did we lose our dignity as men and women. WE have no self respect, or respect for others. Women portrayed as half dressed bimbos or dominant men haters, and men displayed as women chasers, or less attractive and stupid. My question again, is where does this stop? We all know that if a joke like this was made in a place of work termination for sexual harassment would be possible, regardless if it was meant to be a joke. In addition to the questions of political correctness, poor advertising strategy in my opinion. Yes, it is most likely the most talked about drink, but the most purchased, doubt it. If women buy it to show them they can, thats idiotic. All that would do is let Dr Pepper get away with their masochistic views and displays . End point, it is simply not ok for product advertising or shows/movies to make jokes against any sex/ creed/ ethnicity/ religion.
Posted by: Lindsey | January 19, 2012, 7:02 pm 7:02 pm
This commercial is so sexist! I am disgusted! I serve in the military and I am a female, you tell me I can fight for our country but I can’t drink Dr. Pepper 10! I’m tougher then most guys out there and very famine! Boycotting Dr. Pepper forever!
Posted by: Chrissy | January 19, 2012, 11:17 pm 11:17 pm
all women do is complain. you dont see men complaining how its sexist when women always win in compition to men in sitcoms and we dont complain how its sexist how there are nothing but women on television these day and we dont complain its sexist when women seclude men like that one pregresso commercial where she asks to speak to a woman because the man just didnt “get it”. so once in the history of the developed world ill you women stop complainging. PLEASE
Posted by: aggrevated | February 5, 2012, 2:33 am 2:33 am
i felt this comercial was quite comical and entertaining. people just need to learn how to take a joke.
Posted by: Tony | April 16, 2012, 5:33 pm 5:33 pm