Well, Shit

[teleen_fiction]

For those who can't see the video below, it's an ad for Dr. Pepper that parodies an action movie and says, "This movie isn't for you and neither is Dr. Pepper 10."

I usually don't see commercials because I DVR everything and fast-forward, but this one popped up on sf_drama and pissed me off enough for me to make a separate post about it for one reason and one reason only.

I love Dr. Pepper.  It's literally my favorite soda.  It's in my pantry and if it's on the menu, it's what I always order at a restaurant.  And now I can never drink it again because drinking it would literally leave a bad taste in my mouth.  I'm tasting bile right now because of it.  And yes, I do have more important things to be thinking about, which is, in part, why this is pissing me off so much.  I should be worrying about how my abortion rights are being curtailed.  I should be worrying about a GOP candidate who's so stupid that he thinks that the President signs Constitutional Amendments. 

Instead, I'm thinking about Dr. Pepper and about how a lot of women are BUYING it "in protest", basically giving in to the reverse psychology of this ad telling them they can't drink it.  Which is depressing, because the only way for a company to not do this shit is for people to NOT buy the product.  As I am doing.  Someone just told me to, "Have fun making absolutely no impact on Dr. Pepper's marketing strategies," which is a fair comment.  Dr. Pepper doesn't give a shit about whether or not I buy it - they just proved it with this ad.  So the only impact I'm going to try to make here is on my wallet.  Every time I see Dr. Pepper on a menu, I'm going to not order it and have water only instead.  I'm going to make a note of what it would have cost and stick that money in a jar somewhere.  When I would have bought it at the grocery store (along with Mt. Dew, because those are the two sodas I buy when Coke and Sprite aren't on sale), I'm going to save that money too. 

We'll see how much adds up in a year. 

Comments

[adelheide.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I saw this. I thought they at least had a sense of humor about how shallow macho movie stereotypes were. However, I rolled my eyes at, "It's not for women!"

I thought, Gosh, that's handy, since I won't be buying it.

Perhaps contact the company and let them know why you will no longer purchase their product. Let them know that you are blogging the urge for others to do the same. The only way they'll care, and the only way they'll change, is if they feel a threat to their bottom line.

Although I do think it would be a neat experiment to tally up the cost and see how much money you can save in a year.

[teleens-journal.livejournal.com]

I posted on their Facebook wall that I wouldn't be buying any more of their product as a direct result of the ad. And I'll be interested to see how much I save up too, :).

[reddwarfer.livejournal.com]

Well, they won't get anymore of my money. I wrote them a lovely little EMail to tell them so.

[teleens-journal.livejournal.com]

Just did the same, :).

[reddwarfer.livejournal.com]

See the response in my journal. It'll make you nuts.

[teleens-journal.livejournal.com]

I just got the exact same response (http://teleens-journal.livejournal.com/242183.html) and I wasted zero time telling them (politely) exactly where they could shove it.

[sparkindarkness.livejournal.com]

Ugh to everyone saying "this doesn't matter focus on something else" I call bullshit

Our society is shaped by the media. What the media deems acceptable, what the media decides to promote, what the media encourages. When media - and that includes adverts, endorses such fuckery then it has greater strength in our society

[teleens-journal.livejournal.com]

Exactly, :(. Every drop of this shit feeds into a larger ocean that eventually drowns us all, :(.

[laplor.livejournal.com]

If living well is the best revenge, saving up that money and drinking water instead of the sugar and/or chemical laden stuff makes an excellent strategy.

I'm in favour of boycotting all sodas and I don't really care if the companies notice.

[teleens-journal.livejournal.com]

Eh, apparently Coke did a decent job of marketing their low-calorie option without misogyny. I don't drink *much* soda to begin with and I can't drink diet because of aspartame, so I guess I'll stick with the occasional Sprite, :).

[peristaltor.livejournal.com]

Damn. Since when did assuming your target market never matured beyond the "Toyz are Kool" and "No Gurls Aloud" stage of development pay?

Okay, all the time. But for soft drinks? That's just weird.

[teleens-journal.livejournal.com]

The whole thing is so completely stupid it's amazing that it was allowed to pass in this day and age, :(.

[peristaltor.livejournal.com]

Yup. "In this day and age" indeed. Very '80s backlash-y.

I suspect the frat boys who successfully pitched this monstrosity will soon find that none of their frat bro contacts will help them find another job in advertising.

[teleens-journal.livejournal.com]

Except that apparently this ad campaign has been in the works for nearly a year and no one's bothered to have an outcry over it until now. I guess Ellen did a show on it, but it's not getting nearly as much negative attention as I would hope, :(.