You have heard that an apple a day supposedly does the same thing, but as much as I love apples, it's not the real doctor that I have a problem with. It's Dr. Pepper that I want to keep away, which is a shame because I have always liked Dr. Pepper. Ironically enough, I have actually sung the praises of Dr. Pepper because of the fact that it's diet version tastes almost exactly like it's regular version. So much so, that I don't understand why anyone would even choose the regular version and all of the calories and carbohydrates that come along with it since there is virtually no difference in taste. The only reason I could even fathom would be someone's personal preference to not ingest artificial sweeteners, which is fine by me. Point being, the diet stuff tastes just as good as the regular stuff which segues perfectly into my newfound gripe with Dr. Pepper's marketing department. Dr. Pepper Ten: A new 'flavor' of Dr. Pepper that has the same great taste as regular Dr. Pepper and features the same 23 bold ingredients that Dr. Pepper hangs it's hat on, yet it boasts only 10 calories per serving! I am not only failing to understand the point of creating this 'middle ground' variety of Dr. Pepper between the original regular flavor and the amazingly similar tasting zero calorie, zero carbohydrate diet version, but here's the real head scratcher; they're marketing it to men only and they aren't being subtle about it at all.
I understand and have got to believe that there are strategies to such a campaign that might not be obvious. For example, I would be willing to bet that there might be studies and research that would indicate that by attempting to specifically exclude a gender from a marketing campaign on a product that is clearly suitable for use by either sex, may actually increase the likelihood of the excluded sex buying that product. Will more women go out and subliminally buy this new 'flavor' of Dr. Pepper because the television commercial flat out tells them that it's not for them? That remains to be seen, but anyone who has attempted to deal with or have even just witnessed the behavior of a cranky, spoiled child should know that the human instinct to want what you are not supposed to have is real and perhaps even a legit marketing technique. That being said, it is still curious as to why this beverage is more masculine than it is feminine. The commercial doesn't shed any light on the reasoning either, I'm guessing that's because there is no real good reason. If I was forced to make a guess, I would lean towards the theory that the Dr. Pepper food scientists figured out a way to make a lower calorie beverage without using the same formula and/or ingredients that are used in diet Dr. Pepper. With this discovery, they then needed a way to market it and struggled to find a strong enough motivation to buy a drink that is essentially the same as diet Dr. Pepper, but with 10 more calories and 2 more carbohydrates per serving. It just doesn't make sense. So ultimately someone in the Dr. Pepper marketing meeting must have suggested that real manly men don't like ordering or being seen with diet beverages. I can't fathom any other reason why this drink would be specifically marketed towards men, but even if I've figured out the reason behind it, doesn't mean I have to agree with it.
Are we really not past the archaic concept that there are different rules for what is or isn't acceptable for men and women respectively? I am certainly not going to organize a protest over this, and to be honest I can't say that I'll boycott the Dr. Pepper product because of it. I am not even trying to make this out to be some profound statement that speaks to the flaws of our society and how it's a microcosm of an unfair, male-dominated world. I don't think this marketing campaign has anything to do with any of that, it's just a weak attempt to get people to buy what is essentially the same product that they have been selling for decades, just under a different premise with a different label. In fact, if this says anything about gender roles in our society, it implies that men are easily manipulated when their 'manhood' is called into question, challenged or encouraged. It's borderline embarrassing for men, that this marketing campaign was likely built on the foundation that just the word 'diet' in correlation with a man, somehow diminishes his masculinity. So in other words, the tagline of this product being "It's Not For Women" can accurately be translated to, "Hey all you insecure guys out there that are overly concerned about the status of your 'manhood'... Dr. Pepper has something new for you!! Care about your health? Don't want all those empty calories and carbs that you get from regular soda but hate being seen with a product that says 'Diet' on it? Introducing Dr. Pepper Ten! It tastes the same as diet Dr. Pepper but since it has 10 calories instead of zero, we don't have to put that girly word on the label."
Not to mention, I think we've had more than enough 'varieties' of Dr. Pepper already and the cherry flavored stuff really doesn't even taste that much different. Maybe next time Dr. Pepper ought to try investing in a more tangible and unique marketing strategy with the use of some promotional giveaways or a social media campaign, rather than spending so much money on what is essentially a re-packaging of an already existing product.
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