Sunday, November 6, 2011

On Dr. Pepper 10

Recently Dr. Pepper discovered that men don't like drinking diet soda.  Apparently calorie concern is not very manly.  While other soda companies have found ways to cater their diet drinks to their male demographic while still remaining female-friendly, Dr. Pepper has taken a slightly more he-man-woman-haters-club approach. 


From the tag line of "It's not for women" to forbidding females to like their facebook page (I believe this ban has been lifted since the start of the page) estrogen is banned from coming anywhere near this new beverage. Executive V.P of Marketing for Dr. Pepper has commented "Women get the joke.  'Is it really for men or really for women?' is a way to start the conversation that can spread and get people engaged in the product."  Smart thinking Mr. V.P.  I typically discuss with friends whether or not the product I'm about to purchase is accurately portrayed by its television advertisement and whether or not we are in the appropriate demographic to complete the purchase.  I can't tell you  how many times I've become engaged in conversation over whether or not 7Up will really make me ridiculously bubbly, or if I will be allowed to purchase a box of Trix since I am not technically a kid.


While this may bode well for encouraging men to be OK with drinking said macho drink, I have to wonder how this is going to affect sales.  Considering women are the primary shoppers when it comes to food and beverage purchases, and considering they will most likely pick up the same diet drink that they have in the past, I can't imagine this being any better than stagnant sales success for the Dr. Pepper company.  But I could be wrong. Maybe we will become suddenly engaged in the ever-present question of whether females can actually drink Dr. Pepper 10. Maybe all the men in the world will suddenly have the urge to stop punching snakes in the nose, hop in their hummers, and drink some manly diet soda.




Mood: Skeptical