Did Dr Pepper Come Out as Bi or Gay?

When it comes to advertisement, nailing the tone for the right target audience is key, and to come out as always played into media attention. This is especially true when dealing with groups like the LGBTQ community, where innuendo abounds and tone is vital to get the message across. Some companies hit the mark, but sometimes they miss the mark and hit the poor guy at the next target in the ass, possibly literally. What did Dr. Pepper do?

When it comes to mis-aimed marketing, Dr. Pepper might just win the prize for 2019 through its veiled effort to “come out” as gay or bisexual. Though potentially a hoax, a European ad for the favorite soda of Steins; Gate and sportsball declared, “A queer drink for diverse drinkers”. The ad also featured multiple angles of a soda can while declaring it to be “versatile”. The wording doesn’t leave much to imagination, and that is exactly the problem.

I might be a queer fellow, but even I would think twice about chugging a soda before sex. I have enough stomach issues on a regular day without adding to the chemical quandary that is my gastrointestinal system. The link between how you look at a can of soda and different sex positions is equally baffling. I might be old fashioned, but for me there’s two ways to have sex with soda; raw in the can or protected in a glass, and I always make sure I get the medical report before drinking from the can.

About the only thing making this ad even better from a humorous point of view was to use to glass bottle and make a joke about insertion. Frankly, Dr. Pepper’s oversight in that regard is possibly one of the most offensive parts of the ad. It’s one thing to imply soda is vital to various gay sex positions, to deny the utility of a sturdy glass bottle is just wrong.

Of all the ways to appeal to a gay audience, cheap butt sex jokes is so low of a denominator it couldn’t pass math class even with extra credit. Such advertisement methods are not only counterproductive to diversity; they’re also insulting to the supposed target demographic. The ad is so completely out of the field it makes one wonder if it was done as a deliberate satirical strike to build brand awareness and generate buzz in the gay community. If that was the intended goal, it certainly succeeded. You’d think a big-name brand would have better sense than that, but we live in a world where billionaires try to explore space rather than pay their workers a living wage. In comparison to some of the vile tricks pulled by companies, a cheap butt sex joke is almost on the level of the Gilbert and Sullivan in regards to how tongue in cheek it is. Rim joke unintended of course.

Whether intended to generate buzz with a controversial ad campaign or just complete ignorance, such advertisements are shallow pandering that fail to understand the nuances of advertisement appeal or their target audience. Coors Light advertises itself as a refreshing breakfast drink, Liberty Mutual hates Australians, and Allstate has a masochist for a mascot owned by Tina Fey. When it comes to appealing to gays and the subsequent stress when they choose to come out, Dr. Pepper could have done pretty much anything except what they did. A drink at a gay bar between a flirting pair would have been a better idea, or even show how it can used as a mixer for favorite drinks. Going for the cheap sex joke is just that, a cheap shot, like a well drink during happy hour.

Sex jokes are a common denominator because they’re crude, easy to create, and generate buzz. When it comes to diversity, however, such jokes come across as insults more than a mere good-natured jab. To present your brand as a cheap thrill with no depth, it is best to mind the quality of the brand in question. We all know Dr. Pepper is one of the best sodas on the market, but to use such an advertisement method really makes you think about where the brand stands on certain issues.

Whether from ignorance, satire, or cheap jokes and shots, such advertising can do just as much harm as good. It may have succeeded in getting attention, but it might not be the sort of attention the company hoped for. I know I won’t be drinking Dr. Pepper before I try a new sex position, though to be fair that has nothing to do with the brand and everything to do with my mind have more important things to worry about. And I think anyone who bottoms might agree, that drinking a carbonated fizzy drink might not be the best hygienic decision just before seeing your lover! Time will tell if Dr. Pepper has a similar problem.

Dr. Pepper previously had a campaign saying that its Dr.Pepper “Ten” drink was not for women, or more likely, was not geared to the female taste.

And before you think I am being sexist, do you research — Coke declared that “Coke Light” appealed to females; and “Coke Zero” taste was formulated to appeal to males. So Dr. Pepper’s “not for women” ad wasn’t the first.

But, in 20/20, it makes me thing that Dr. Pepper might have been in the closet back then, and was dipping his “big toe” in the water of “coming out”.

Well, provided he HAS a “big toe”.

Even with all of that, it did make me laugh a little bit. I enjoy ads that push the limits and take risks. Come to think about it, that sums up Dr. Pepper drinkers.