Hey Ladies, It's NOT for You!

Dr. Pepper is introducing a new diet version of their drink, and their coming out guns blazing. Their newest commercial uses the slogan "it's not for women," but this risk is confusing when you take a look at the product. It's not a product that can only be used by one gender, or is made for one gender. Their target market has been identified as a wide variety of consumers. In this examination, they describe their audience as 13-30 year old busy people, often students and newly employed workers. The marketing mix that this implies is vast and could be very profitable for any company. A quick pick-me-up on the way to class with a bit of caffeine is what most people use every day. Making your brand the choice of students could put your company on top.

Dr. Pepper's newest ad, however completely alienates a large portion of their possible market. Men only make up 44.3% of the diet soda market, and only 9.7% of those men are within Dr. Pepper's target market (according to this article). So with such a small amount of the market being men within their preferred age range, was this move risky, or just stupid? Articles vary in their opinions of this commercial and, of course, women have been in an uproar about this commercial since it first started to air .A page on Facebook for the product features games and other content that only men can access. Since October, stock in Dr. Pepper has increased. Some also believe that it may simply be a stunt to get people talking about the brand again. I mean really, when's the last time (before this commercial) that someone even mentioned Dr. Pepper to you? It even aired on the Ellen DeGeneres show as Ellen posed the question, "What exactly is a 'lady drink?'" (See second video below, and start at 50 seconds in.) So what do you think, offensive, or clever? You be the judge.