Dr. Pepper: "We don't serve your kind here."

[Elret]

@Shakes

There is a caffeine free version. Both diet and non diet.

Not in Canada, I don’t think.

[DSeid]

Funny how much this overlaps with this yogurt thread and specifically with the issue of how to market yogurt to men. I linked to here there and the yogurt ad embedded there overlaps with the approach. It’s worth a watch. My guess is that the people marketing Diet Dr. Pepper did.

From the link:

Every product category has its nice little safe target market. Its nice little safe stereotype. And, that target is usually the biggest, most obvious group of potential buyers.

As marketers, we really have two options if we want to be successful. We can try to differentiate our product or service from all of the competitors who are trying to sell the same types of products or services. OR, we can differentiate the market and own it.

Forever, yogurt has been a “women’s food”. Watch any ad. … So, what if a yogurt company marketed a yogurt specifically for men by appealing to their manhood… Different packaging. Different shelf space at the store. All to create a whole new market that never existed before. But if even a little successful, they will be the only player in the Men’s Yogurt Market. If they can make even a little market out of something that didn’t exist before, they’ll likely be more successful than competing in the “me too” traditional market made up of 99% women.

Now think about your own products or services. Are there ways you could reinvent them without completely reinventing the products or services themselves – by creating a whole new market that you can own? If they can do it with yogurt, you can do it too.

Diet soda is like yogurt - men actually do drink/eat the stuff but they are not being marketed to much. Using over the top stereotype humor is an attempt to do that. I am not sure if it works or just comes off as stupid but insulting? I can’t see it.

[Sparky_the_Wonder_Spirit]

I thought the commercial was pretty stupid. But I was watching Spike TV so it fit in with the rest of their ads.

[choie]

As a woman I’m outraged! Not by the commercial, but by the idea that anyone could improve on normal Diet Dr. Pepper. For me it’s one of the best diet sodas… no, probably the best*. If only the caffeine-free version were easier to find on the East Coast! It’s rarer than hen’s teeth out here.

• Coke Zero, Diet Sunkist, and Diet 7Up are runners up. Unfortunately, all but Diet 7Up have caffeine, so I haven’t had any of the good’uns for a couple of years now.

[Bearflag70]

@choie

Unfortunately, all but Diet 7Up have caffeine, so I haven’t had any of the good’uns for a couple of years now.

I like Diet A&W root beer. No caffeine.

[Darth_Panda]

@DSeid

Diet soda is like yogurt - men actually do drink/eat the stuff but they are not being marketed to much. Using over the top stereotype humor is an attempt to do that. I am not sure if it works or just comes off as stupid but insulting? I can’t see it.

So you’re saying we need to market extreme low fat diet Dr Pepper flavored yogurt to manly men - preferably bikers and lumberjacks by promising them that it enhances sexual performance using an ad campaign that borrows from Ax body spray and the world’s most interesting man?

I can’t say that I approve, but I admire your gusto.

[Guinastasia]

@choie

As a woman I’m outraged! Not by the commercial, but by the idea that anyone could improve on normal Diet Dr. Pepper. For me it’s one of the best diet sodas… no, probably the best*. If only the caffeine-free version were easier to find on the East Coast! It’s rarer than hen’s teeth out here.

• Coke Zero, Diet Sunkist, and Diet 7Up are runners up. Unfortunately, all but Diet 7Up have caffeine, so I haven’t had any of the good’uns for a couple of years now.

Where are you? I’m in Pittsburgh and I’ve found Diet Dr. Pepper without caffeine. I also see Caffeine-free Diet Coke.

I’m happy that Eat ‘N’ Park serves caffeine-free Diet Pepsi, instead of regular Diet Pepsi. It’s nice to be able to have a Pepsi there, even if it’s Diet. (I’ll have regular too, if it’s caffeine free)
Okay, now I’m jonsing for some pop. I loves me some fizz.

[Jenaroph]

@DSeid

Funny how much this overlaps with this yogurt thread and specifically with the issue of how to market yogurt to men. I linked to here there and the yogurt ad embedded there overlaps with the approach. It’s worth a watch. My guess is that the people marketing Diet Dr. Pepper did.

From the link:
Diet soda is like yogurt - men actually do drink/eat the stuff but they are not being marketed to much. Using over the top stereotype humor is an attempt to do that. I am not sure if it works or just comes off as stupid but insulting? I can’t see it.

I don’t entirely disagree, I was thinking about the yogurt connection to this myself, and there’s a (sometimes subtle) difference between aiming heavily or even exclusively towards one market, and telling a different market that “You’re not allowed to have this.” The yogurt commercial satires the macho stereotypes without overtly telling women “This isn’t for you.” Even the Dr. Pepper commercial with the tagline “Not for Women” is still funny because it’s obviously over the top. I mean, people in this thread have been joking about women being stopped at the grocery when they try to buy Dr Pepper TEN. That could be a very funny commercial and right up the alley of this campaign. If they actually DID that (as a publicity stunt or whatever), it would be so bizarre it would be hard to find any humor in it at all.

And that’s why the blocking of the Facebook app crosses the line for me. I can watch and appreciate your TV ad, but when I deliberately go to see what’s on your Facebook page, you exclude me? It makes no sense; don’t you want as many eyes as possible seeing your little ad gimmick? The fact that the exclusion itself is the real gimmick is harsh and juvenile. It protrudes into the real world in a way that recalls the “No Girls Allowed” clubs that were all too real just a couple of decades ago, and my gut reaction is, “You’re taking special care to keep me from finding out more about your product? Guess I’ll give it a pass then.”

[billfish678]

@Jenaroph

le. It protrudes into the real world in a way that recalls the “No Girls Allowed” clubs that were all too real just a couple of decades ago, and my gut reaction is, “You’re taking special care to keep me from finding out more about your product? Guess I’ll give it a pass then.”

Time from Holocaust to Hogan’s Hero’s: about 20 years. Just sayin.

[PlainJain]

@tdn

I have an uncanny feeling that if a woman walked into a store and tried to buy a Dr. Pepper TEN, they’d probably let her.

Probably.

That’s CRAZY TALK, man!

[Jenaroph]

@billfish678

Time from Holocaust to Hogan’s Hero’s: about 20 years. Just sayin.

Time from “offensive commercials” to Godwin’s Law, 89 posts.

Besides, Hogan’s Heroes portrayed the Nazis as bumbling fools. The equivalent is the Stupid Husbandtm commercials which we actually have been seeing for a while. Wouldn’t have been as funny or acceptable if they mock-glorified the Germans and then blocked TV sets belonging to Jews from tuning in the program.

[Argent_Towers]

LOL. There’s no such thing as bad publicity for a brand, unless the bad publicity is directly related to problems regarding the quality of the actual product. In this case, this ridiculous ad campaign is going to drum up shitloads of attention, and sell a lot of soda.

[rogerbox]

Please lord, take me from this life into paradise before I use my freetime to write a soft drink company about their commercial and why it offended me enough to stop using the product.

[Crazyhorse]

@Jenaroph

And that’s why the blocking of the Facebook app crosses the line for me. I can watch and appreciate your TV ad, but when I deliberately go to see what’s on your Facebook page, you exclude me? It makes no sense; don’t you want as many eyes as possible seeing your little ad gimmick? The fact that the exclusion itself is the real gimmick is harsh and juvenile. It protrudes into the real world in a way that recalls the “No Girls Allowed” clubs that were all too real just a couple of decades ago, and my gut reaction is, “You’re taking special care to keep me from finding out more about your product? Guess I’ll give it a pass then.”

A Facebook status isn’t actually a legally-binding oath. Any female who really wants to check out all the testosterone-laden activity that’s no doubt on the Dr. Pepper Facebook page could just set their status to ‘male’ temporarily and check it all out. (My guess: a lot of talk about hunting, sports, car repair, weight lifting, scoring with chicks, etc. with sub-forums on baldness and impotence)

But don’t come in there and ruin it with cinnamon spice and unicorns and ‘feelings’, Missy. Sometimes a man just needs a place where he can enjoy a low-calorie beverage without all the social stigma and shame that comes with drinking diet beverages.

[Martini_Enfield]

@Mr.Moto

Okay. You have to market diet soda in an oversaturated market for the stuff. About the only place for any real growth in diet soda drinkers )as opposed to poaching the drinkers of other diet sodas) is among men,

For decades these sodas were primarily marketed to women and consequently they carried a reputation (even stigma) of being a woman’s drink.

So, if you want to really move product, what do you do? Basically what Dr. Pepper just did. And even those like you who find the approach mildly offensive are responding to the ad - which is more than one can say about most ads that get lost in the noise.

Win for Dr. Pepper and their ad agency. This kind of stuff wins awards - and moves a lot of soda.

Pretty much exactly what I came in to say. Have a look at Coke Zero (not sure if it’s available in the US) and Pepsi Max- the ads are targeted at guys, with Pepsi Max ads in particular involving a bunch of lads doing laddish things like making their boss think he’s having overwork hallucinations so they can all knock off early for the weekend, or pretending to rescue someone from a sea monster with a beach umbrella to impress a woman at the beach.

Then look at Diet Coke ads- aimed at trendy twentysomething women who like fashion and shopping. It’s fairly obvious Coke figure that men buy Coke Zero (along with some women) and women (but not that many men) buy Diet Coke, and from what I gather that does seem to be the case.

[Jenaroph]

@Argent_Towers

LOL. There’s no such thing as bad publicity for a brand, unless the bad publicity is directly related to problems regarding the quality of the actual product. In this case, this ridiculous ad campaign is going to drum up shitloads of attention, and sell a lot of soda.

Except if you look at Diosa’s link upthread, it’s hurting people’s perception of Dr Pepper a lot, both male and female. And they don’t have sales numbers yet because the campaign is too new, but the people who study this kind of thing for a living expect lowered perceptions might indicate future reduced sales. Like I said, there’s a subtle difference between aiming at a market and excluding another market, and I think they misjudged where the line was.

And as for changing my Facebook status to male? I’m too lazy to look up and repost Diosa’s link from this thread let alone figure out how to do that for the sake of watching an ad that I can be pretty danged sure isn’t half as interesting as the fact that they’re pretending they don’t want me to see it. I usually expend effort to NOT see advertising (installing ad blockers, fast-forwarding through commercials); I’ve already made all the effort I care to TO see it simply by cracking open the computer and clicking on links. I’m not likely to jump through further hoops. So your rainbow-unicorn-herbal shampoo-free zone is safe from me. For now One day, the revolution will come…we’re starting with diet soda…

Although, I imagine the questions from people on my friends list when that shows up on their ticker might just be fun enough to consider doing that. “Uhh, is there something you haven’t told us?”

[Enderw24]

I shared this pit thread with my wife. I’m going to quote her response verbatim:

"how about we focus on the things that actually matter?

Why don’t people pit things like HB 453 which allows doctors to deny a life saving abortion to mothers which every house republican and 15 democrats supported? I think that’s much more important than ‘oh no! Dr pepper doesn’t like my vagina!’ get the fuck over it and get angry at real things."

[VinylTurnip]

Sounds like a real ball-breaker. You know what she needs!

[elucidator]

Shoes?

[Chefguy]

Doctor Pepper 10? There has to be a binary joke in there somewhere. Free yourselves people: stop drinking soda completely. You’ll feel better and live longer.