Dr. Pepper recently came out with a campaign called "It's not for women." These advertisements have sparked quite the debate on social stereotypes in advertisements. The company says that it's reasons for the campaign stemmed from a report that men were less likely to drink Dr. Pepper's lower calorie drinks because they were too feminine. Though their research is understandable, did they handle the situation properly? Judge for yourself...
Dr. Pepper may have gotten their target men's attention, but was it really worth it to alienate their female consumers? I may be biased as a woman, but I think they've just hurt rather than helped themselves. Many women have been very offended and may boycott Dr. Pepper all together. Some are calling Dr. Pepper sexist. I can seen how it raises awareness and draws attention to their product but it's not the smartest move on Dr. Peppers part.
To be totally honest, I'm not sure its SEXIST. It certainly does play up gender sterotypes but if that is the only problem here you could make the case that almost every commercial does that. Who do you see in ads for laundry detergent? Women. Who do you see in ads for new trucks? Men.
ReplyDeleteYes they did assume that women don't watch action movies but I don't think it was an attempt to alienate women. In a way it relates to both men and women, the relatively common relationship experience of the male wanting to watch an action film and the female NOT wanting to. I can tell you it has CERTAINLY happened to me.