Dr. Pepper recently came out with an ad that has been denounced as sexist against men by a number of female commentators, such as Jessica Wakeman of “The Frisky:”
You’re probably expecting an avowed feminist like myself to put a diet soda commercial marketed to men with guns, ATVs and snake attacks on blast. It’s true, Dr. Pepper Ten’s new ad declaring “It’s not for women” is dripping with machismo like beads of sweat pour off a gator hunter in the Florida sun. But the commercial is a lot more sexist towards men than it is towards women. Yes, men are victims of sexism, too. Can Madison Avenue really not sell a 10-calorie soft drink to men without sweeping gender generalizations?
Sure, the ad stereotypes men, and is obviously tongue-in-cheek, but even though it’s kind of a lame joke I don’t see men getting too upset about it. Men are not programmed to take immediate offense at any joke at their expense, so the ad might actually work on teenage boys who find the idea of being outlandishly masculine both funny and appealing at the same time (why else would so many men watch pro wrestling?)
Here’s the ad:
When I first heard about the ad, I wondered whether Dr. Pepper might score a lot of female consumers who wanted to prove “I can drink whatever I want.” Reverse psychology works very well on women — tell them they can’t have something and they want it all the more. Feminism has thrived off this, a prime example being women in the military: “Are you telling me I can’t put on a uniform and get blown to pieces? I do what I want…” Of course, reality sets in as soon as basic training starts, and next thing you know we have pregnant soldiers and army clerks sashaying around base with their blouses half open.
So, I did a little search to see what women are saying about the ad, and came up with a nice little gem, in which a young woman proudly tells Dr. Pepper to “F— Off!” by, of all things, drinking Dr. Pepper:
Perhaps Dr. Pepper’s marketing team has discovered the perfect method for manipulating feminism. If nothing else, the company at least gained a lot of attention — it seems baiting feminists is actually profitable these days.
