It’s a trap
One of the dumbest marketing ideas I’ve ever seen is Dr. Pepper 10. It’s a diet drink that is targeted to men and they have this marketing campaign featuring action movies, guns and car races. Here’s their commercial. Personally, I don’t drink diet anything because it tastes awful. But if I were to, I don’t think I’d be inclined to buy a supposedly manly diet drink.
That said, I’m with Aunt B. They should run this one. I’ve not stopped laughing.
December 7th, 2011 at 10:41 am
The marketing may be dumb, but I like the drink. The market positioning is basically the same as Coke Zero (which I also like); to me, it tastes better than Diet Dr. Pepper. It doesn’t seem to have that strong diet taste to me.
Have you tried Coke Zero, Uncle, and do you still get the awful diet taste from that?
December 7th, 2011 at 10:45 am
The Dr. Pepper commercial seems to insinuate that it’s a manly soda for manly men who enjoy doing manly things with other manly men. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
December 7th, 2011 at 12:00 pm
Step 1. Alienate at least half the buying public. Make sure you alienate the half that is seen in grocery stores buying stuff most often.
Step 2. ….?…..
Step 3. Profit!
Now where did my underwear go?
December 7th, 2011 at 12:33 pm
I don’t think the commercials are targeted for men.
Loads of commercials these days are geared around the heroic and intelligent (sometimes patronzing) wife coming to the rescue of “the bumbling husband”, so these are probably a little bit of turnabout.
I get a little irritated with the former type of commercial and what they say about the advertisers view of men, but then I realize they are made to take advantage of the “wife” and to get her to open her purse so she can save the day by frowning at her husband when he shows her a powerpoint presentation of why he should be able to play golf on sundays.
This style of commerical is probably very effective at getting women to buy, but the trouble is that it cuts the nutts right off “dad”.
Back to my original point, I figure these Dr Pepper commercials are actually pointed at women or they would feature more tits.
December 7th, 2011 at 12:34 pm
Dr Pepper 10 is clearly better than Coke Zero.
It’s got 10 more!
They’re going to be screwed when Mountain Dew 11 comes out, though.
December 7th, 2011 at 1:33 pm
“…I figure these Dr Pepper commercials are actually pointed at women or they would feature more tits.”
That sounds like the strongest argument I’ve heard yet.
December 7th, 2011 at 2:36 pm
I Don’t drink soda, video was hoot !
December 7th, 2011 at 3:39 pm
I didn’t know until about ten years ago that there was a “trick” to switching from sugar soda to diet. The trick is that when you decide to switch, your body will take about 2 weeks to adjust to the difference in taste. During that period you have to stick with the diet stuff, even if you hate the taste, and not cheat with the sugar stuff. At the end of the two week period your palate will have adjusted to appreciate the taste of the diet stuff, and you’ll suddenly discover that it doesn’t taste horrible. Then it’s just a matter of finding a soda that you like the taste of. I used to drink Diet Cherry Coke until they changed the formula and renamed it “Cherry Zero,” which isn’t as good as Diet Cherry Coke was. Diet Coke itself doesn’t taste all that good. My current favorite is Diet Cherry Dr. Pepper. When I can’t find that, I go with Diet A&W Root Beer.
December 7th, 2011 at 3:44 pm
See Yorkie chocolate bars. Oddly, Dr Pepper was formerly a Cadbury property, and Nestle’s no-girls-allowed campaign handed Cadbury their ass. There has to be some cross-insemination there. You can almost taste it.
Yorkie first shrank from seven bits to six (it’s modern Britain after all), then relented and offered a pink-wrapped girls-only version. No doubt that’s where this narrative is heading, if you give it enough rope. Then we can have the “don’t-tell-me-I-can’t-shoot-pink” go-around one more time.
December 7th, 2011 at 8:11 pm
the commercials are entertaining.
though I want to comment on the fact that some women find the dr pepper sexist – are bra commercials or tampon commercials sexist as well.
December 7th, 2011 at 11:00 pm
I am not a marketing expert but it doesn’t make sense to me to have a marketing campaign that basically dismisses or insults a large percentage of your potential customers(women). But hey it worked for AXE so maybe it will work for them.
December 8th, 2011 at 1:02 am
Oh, and to make matters worse… It sucks. The wife got some for free at the store and we couldn’t drink anymore after the first taste.