Blogger accuses Dr. Pepper of not wanting women to drink new soda

[ardencabbel]

I was wandering around the net when I stumbled across this blog post: http://blogs.babble.com/strollerderby/2011/10/12/dr-pepper-claims-no-girls-allowed-with-girly-new-soda/#comment-70744

Essentially Dr. Pepper has a new ten calorie soda out that has the tagline : "It's Not for Women". The author of this blog has taken it at face value. She seems to believe that Dr. Pepper does not want women drinking this 10 calorie Cherry soda.

I took one look at the ad, and I understood what they were going for. To me it is kind of like a man using fruit flavored lip balm and being caught by his macho friend. He then says "It's not for Women, it is manly fruity lip softener". But perhaps I am just completely wrong on this one, but I doubt it.

What do you think?

Edited: I entered a poll, but it didn't show up.

 

[RatRace123]

I believe you're right.
The ad campaign itself is a little odd, but I can tell what they were going for, it's like saying "Don't worry manly men, low Calorie cherry soda isn't just for women anymore."

But of course people love themselves a good rant about misogyny and sexism, and some of them will look for it any place they can find it.

Apparently that includes soda slogans, who knew?

 

[Melon Hunter]

Well, Yorkie chocolate bars have been advertising themselves as 'not for women' for years. They even went as far as to have the O in Yorkie replaced by a crossed-out woman sign. I don't hear her complaining about that. As any sane person would have gathered, the packaging is a joke, in the same way as WKD tries to advertise itself as a 'bloke drink' (despite being a brightly coloured alcopop). It just plays off the preconceived perception of what's manly. Of course, there are going to be people who take umbrage to this, but I don't really see a problem with giving them a little soapbox to shout their opinions from. People who agree with them can read along, nodding sagely, and everyone else can laugh at just how much they're overreacting. Win-win.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Essentially Dr. Pepper has a new ten calorie soda out that has the tagline : "It's Not for Women". The author of this blog has taken it at face value. She seems to believe that Dr. Pepper does not want women drinking this 10 calorie Cherry soda.

Um, how'd you get that?

To me, it looks like the author is simply annoyed at a somewhat misogynistic ad, as well as poor business sense which will tend to annoy the people it should be marketed to anyway.

 

[ardencabbel]

Essentially Dr. Pepper has a new ten calorie soda out that has the tagline : "It's Not for Women". The author of this blog has taken it at face value. She seems to believe that Dr. Pepper does not want women drinking this 10 calorie Cherry soda.

Um, how'd you get that?

To me, it looks like the author is simply annoyed at a somewhat misogynistic ad, as well as poor business sense which will tend to annoy the people it should be marketed to anyway.

I quote from the article: "Here?s what I wonder: Do the advertising executives and creative-types not read their own research? You know, the research that suggests that women wield the most influence when it comes to exercising the almighty wallet? I mean, how bright is it to alienate the portion of population who will likely make or break your product?

And is there a good reason why Dr Pepper doesn?t want half of the planet?s population to drink Dr Pepper Ten? Do they think women will find a beverage with just 10 calories less appealing than men? And what do they think about the fact that 40 percent of the people who have tried Dr Pepper Ten are women, according to the New York Daily News?"

That is how I got that she seems to believe that Dr. Pepper does not want women drinking the soda. She says it directly.

 

[The Virgo]

People get their skirts up in the air these days over any little thing. Men and Women both. However, getting angry over lip balm is, I think, an all-time low for our species. At this rate, we'll probably go extinct due to low brain-cell count in a few dozen years. >_<

But yeah, I think you're right; there are WAAAYY to many blogs out there. To be truly honest, I don't even like blogs. I mean, I see their pluses and how it's a tool to reach other people, but that doesn't change how I don't like them.

 

[antidonkey]

I'm guessing the blog lady lacks a sense of humor. That's the only reason I can see as to why she'd take that silly ad campaign seriously.

 

[lacktheknack]

Oh, and P.S.? The recipes on Dr Pepper Ten's Facebook page? You know, the ones that tell you what you can cook with Dr Pepper Ten? That's pretty girly, too. But nice, try, I guess. On second thought: Not.

I take offense to this misandry!

 

[Azure-Supernova]

I don't know, these guys have been using that promotion long enough...

 

[Blunderboy]

I mean, how bright is it to alienate the portion of population who will likely make or break your product?

And what do they think about the fact that 40 percent of the people who have tried Dr Pepper Ten are women, according to the New York Daily News?"

She also undermines her own argument there. If only 40% of the buyers are women, it follows that 60% are men. 60 is a larger number than 40, ergo it is men who will make or break the product.

Honestly, I've seen far too many of these types of stories to care anymore.

 

[everythingbeeps]

Neither Dr. Pepper nor any diet soda has ever struck me as being "for women". So I really don't understand this ad campaign.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

This is ridiculous. Anyone who has actually tasted Dr. Pepper knows that it isn't for anyone.

 

[ardencabbel]

This is ridiculous. Anyone who has actually tasted Dr. Pepper knows that it isn't for anyone.

I have always found that if your stomach isn't feeling all that great, but won't do anything to change the situation, drinking a Dr. Pepper will help your stomach reach the 'tipping point' better then anything else you could eat or drink.

 

[Kolby Jack]

As soon as I saw this commercial, my first thought was "Well, this will go over great." I know it's a joke, but if they didn't expect this kind of response, then they are pretty poor advertisers.

 

[Zoe Castillo]

Saying that a blogger accused someone of something is like saying random shouting homeless man on the street accused someone of something.

and this whole "It's Not for Women" thing Is just a publicity stunt, so don?t give it the attention.

 

[kebab4you]

These feminists always seem to ***** just about anything, one look at the ad and you can see what they was going for T.T"

 

[viranimus]

This is reading entirely too much into it.

Its no different than the "Your mom hates dead space" commercials. Its not ment to be serious.

Honestly, if anything its combatting stereotypes. Example. I am diabetic. So when I go out to eat I will order a diet soda. My ex was not, and as such she would order a regular soda. However 8/10 times our drink orders would get mixed up because the wait staff would incorrectly assume that it was the female who ordered the diet drink and not the other way around. The preconceived notion does exist that women favor diet drinks more than men do because women will invariably be more concerned with watching their weight than men will be.

So yeah, its actually a pretty damed good thing. And honestly.. it tastes ok.

 

[PimpHandofGod]

This is ridiculous. Anyone who has actually tasted Dr. Pepper knows that it isn't for anyone.

You sir are a philistine with disreputable taste buds. *white glove to the face*

 

[Toriver]

Japanese candy makers, including Pocky, have made versions "for men" or "for women" for a long time. The "men's" variety usually features dark chocolate and more bitter tastes, while the "women's" kind is sweeter and may feature fruit, especially strawberries. Nobody here really cares and everyone will eat both, but it certainly made me raise an eyebrow the first time I saw it.

 

[Vault101]

People get their skirts up in the air these days over any little thing. Men and Women both. However, getting angry over lip balm is, I think, an all-time low for our species. At this rate, we'll probably go extinct due to low brain-cell count in a few dozen years. >_<

But yeah, I think you're right; there are WAAAYY to many blogs out there. To be truly honest, I don't even like blogs. I mean, I see their pluses and how it's a tool to reach other people, but that doesn't change how I don't like them.

an all time low for our species?

soooo slavery, the holocuast, the dark ages...that was just a little slip up compared to taking lip balm to seriously?