If you’re anything like me, you probably thought we had reached the point where Dr Pepper commercials couldn’t get any more offensive.
Misguided though I was, it seemed to me soda spots had reached their nadir when I first saw rapper Pitbull’s highway overpass party powered by Dr Pepper, where he had “a real good time” with some of his friends at the expense of our musical sensibilities.
But soft drink giant Dr Pepper Snapple Group is trying to lap itself with the latest round of ads for its new product, a diet soda called Dr Pepper Ten.
The soda contains 10 calories and two grams of sugar per can, a concession to males, who market research suggests dislike conventional diet drinks because they are widely associated with women.
For extra effect, the company hitched its marketing blitz to college football on the major networks and ESPN.
The television commercial for the product is a crude action-movie parody that includes laser guns and an impromptu chase scene. It ends with the written and spoken tagline of the product: “It’s not for Lite” — in conjunction with their participation in other “unmanly” activities like going to the bathroom in groups, screaming on a roller coaster or wearing a scarf.
Weight Watchers recently began airing a television spot promoting the company’s online services for men. In contrast to the other two, it contains no detectable comedy, but a man named Erik does have something to say to the bros among him who mock him for using the service.
“Really? I look a lot better than you right now,” he declares sheepishly.
This phenomenon is now widespread enough to cite scores of other examples, but these three are well known and are often seen by even casual television viewers. But who should we thank for making these ads ubiquitous?
It could be that career-minded bros are sitting around a huge pile of ice and energy drinks and high-fiving themselves through brainstorming sessions at advertising firms, but it’s more likely that shrewd executives are targeting our “manly” inclinations with this brutally moronic advertising.
Jim Trebilcock, executive vice president of marketing for Dr Pepper, told The Associated Press last week that “women get the