Dr. Pepper 10... It's Not For Women

I very rarely watch TV. When I do, it’s online, and after the show has been aired. But this past Thursday, I found myself watching comedy central at friend’s apartment. The blatant division of gender roles portrayed in the commercials was shocking, and it reminded me of a comment that was made during last weeks discussion. During the presentation about cross-dressing and homosexuality in films, the question was raised about films being marketed to men. One commercial that addressed this struck me the most. It is a Dr. Pepper 10 commercial that makes fun of the stereotypical male action movie. It does not do this in a way that makes the audience question the way movies are marketed to men, but rather provokes a sense of masculine camaraderie through the imposition of gender categories on certain activities. The commercial begins with a caricaturized jungle action scene, complete with background lazar fire and chase music. The hero stops against a tree saying “hey ladies, enjoying the film? Of course not.” Your left with a feeling that he might be about to present an alternative, or that the shot will cut to a group of women having fun doing something ells. This still seems like a possibility as the hero jumps of what seems like a large cliff screaming “cause this is our movie!” The hope is extinguished when he lands in an opened top jungle car, and proclaims, “and Dr. Pepper 10 is our soda!” At this point I’m wondering what about Dr. Pepper 10 is so masculine, and my confusion only deepens when the hero tells us “its only 10 manly calories, but with all 23 flavors of Dr. Pepper, its what guys want…”

When I realized they were selling a diet soda I wondered why they would want to exclude women from buying it. Society puts more pressure on women to be thin then on men, and from a marketing point of view, it seems silly to dissuade them from buying the soda. Yet still, the commercial is very adamant about this. In the scene, the car skids to a stop in front of the camera and the hero looks into it an says “So you can keep the romantic comedies and lady drinks” the car then screeches off as the hero shouts the final catchphrase “Dr Pepper 10… its not for women”. These words are then come up on screen, next to a can of Dr. pepper 10. The entire marketing strategy for this product seems to be getting men to buy it by telling them its not for women. The commercial itself mocks masculine stereotypes, but at the same time reinforcing them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iuG1OpnHP8