Dr. Pepper Uses Openly Sexist Ad Campaign

October 12, 2011

Soda companies have long worried that men do not drink diet soda because they fear it is not "manly" enough. Well, Dr. Pepper thinks they have the solution with their newest beverage— Dr. Pepper Ten. The drink is being marketed exclusively to men with the tagline "it's not for women." 

The drink contains just ten calories from two grams of sugar, but apparently that makes it much more manly. 

"Hey ladies. Enjoying the film? Of course not. Because this is our movie and this is our soda," a man says in a new TV commercial. "You can keep the romantic comedies and lady drinks. We're good."

Dr. Pepper Ten has a Facebook page that is supposedly men only. 

Jim Trebilcock, executive vice president of marketing for Dr Pepper, doesn't think women will be offended by the marketing campaign and believes the tagline will be a conversation starter. "Women get the joke," he told the AP. "'Is this really for men or really for women?' is a way to start the conversation that can spread and get people engaged in the product."

Do you agree? Or is this ad campaign offensive? 

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Comments

Susan's picture

offensive is right. So much for hoping that our society was grown up and out of the sexist piggery we see in these ads. What's next? the A-holes going to make a new ad saying "this isn't for women, get back in the kitchen" or some BS like that?

Sarah C's picture

Offensive? Please... My fiancee and I saw this commercial last night and had a really good laugh over it. He rewound the DVR a few times and we laughed harder with each viewing. It's funny, it's tongue-in-cheek. Making an issue over these kinds of things sets feminism back.

suze's picture

Are we women so insecure we can't accept that some products are aimed at men?
It's just marketing. Coke and Pepsi have done it already with Coke Zero and Pepsi Max so why not Dr Pepper.
IMO, getting all uppity about this does women a disservice. We can't have everything our own way. Just get on and use all the opportunities we have been given and stop worrying about a bit of stage management.
We need profits to run the country.
In the UK there have been many male-insulting ads for women's products such as the Renault one saying 'Size matters'. Did men complain?

Hannah's picture

Oh lighten up! They're not going to gender check you at the checkout if you buy this! In the UK, Yorkie bars have had the same type of advertising for years and no one bats an eyelid because it's seen for what it is. So its totally ok to poke fun at men in ads aimed at women, but do one poking it back at women and it's sexist?
The majority of women get the joke. Militant feminists, however ^, obviously don't.