Will Dr Pepper 10's controversial "Not for Women" ad campaign sell soda?

A	Yes, the controversy will do a lot of the marketing work for the product and the increased brand awareness will make people buy the product

B	No, this stupid campaign does a disservice to both men and women and customers won't be fooled by the hype

Doctor Pepper has a new product, a 10-calorie diet soda with 2 grams of tasty sugar. I've never liked diet soda but a low-calorie pop with sugar instead of aspartame sounds like it would be way more tolerable than the usual formula. Unfortunately I'm not allowed to try it; Doctor Pepper 10 is not for women.

Advertisers often try to alleviate the perceived social stigma of light drinks when marketing them to men. Bitch Magazine, who graced Doctor Pepper 10 with this week's Douchebag Decree, point out that Miller Lite, Pepsi Max and Coke Zero have used this angle in the past. Doctor Pepper 10 beats them all with its bluntness. Besides the "It's Not for Women" tagline, the commercial spot features army dudes doing manly things in a jungle and the Facebook page features an app that excludes women visitors and lists ten "man'ments" for gender-appropriate behavior.

The New York Times coverage makes me think the minds behind this campaign are onto something, in terms of the publicity the ads will receive as a result of their controversial, exclusionary message. They quote an expert who explains, "One topic people never tire of talking or arguing about is differences between men and women, particularly if women are excluded. That will always get someone's attention." And of course, getting attention is the point of an ad campaign.

Doctor Pepper's executive vice president of marketing commented, "Women get the joke. '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." This sounds to me like glossy PR-speak for "people and media are going to get riled up and tell other people about this, and it will raise the public's brand awareness!" It's pretty genius. I mean, I'm participating in such a marketing method right now, by writing this.

Of course, if it's offensive enough, such a method could backfire and even prompt boycotts. Change.org has a petition urging Doctor Pepper to end the campaign. Do you think "It's Not for Women" will prompt coverage of the product and increase sales, or will its offensive message fail to engage customers?

Eleanor Brown

Will Dr Pepper 10's controversial "Not for Women" ad campaign sell soda?

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