• SumoMe

Grab a DP when you land on the DZ with Charlie all around you.

I’m sure you’ve seen this commercial: some guy in the jungle tells you to drink some Dr. Pepper 10 and reminds you that it’s “not for women.” Now, I don’t like to get too sensitive about pop culture’s appeal to the generic male. I do, however, want to point out how badly Dr. Pepper failed with this advertisement.

Just take a look at the transcript of this commercial; if I was given only the transcript of this commercial, I would never accept the fact that it was a real commercial:

Hey, ladies. Enjoying the film? Of course not. Because this is our movie! And Dr. Pepper TEN is our soda. It’s only ten manly calories, but with all 23 flavors of Dr. Pepper. It’s what guys want. Like this! Catchphrase! So you can keep the romantic comedies and lady drinks. We’re good.

Dr. Pepper TEN. It’s not for women!

Sigh.

This advertisement insults my intelligence as a male consumer. I understand that some people will find this advertisement funny, but if this is what Dr. Pepper thinks they should do to get men to buy their diet soda they are severely mistaken. Not only does this leave the viewer saying “what just happened?” but it sort of ruins your product forever. This advertisement is so popular that whenever I see someone drinking a Dr. Pepper 10 (albeit rarely) someone inevitably mentions how awful that commercial is.

To be fair, any publicity is good publicity though, right? And the fact that we (me, right now, and others) are talking about this advertisement just distributes the message without the company needing to do anything more than let the video filter throughout the media.

Despite knowing that, investigating pop culture and specifically the men involved or portrayed in it is an important thermometer for the health of the modern gentleman. As Bennett points out, men are increasingly becoming jokes in shows–look at dopey old dad, he can’t do anything right. Men, too, as exemplified in this commercial, are becoming almost buffoonish and overly abrasive to the point where we say “This soda is ours, women aren’t allowed to drink this.” Absurd.

What do you think? Does this commercial also alienate women as a whole, who may well be the largest purchaser group of diet drinks? Is the commercial effective for you? Speak your mind in the comments below.