Irony Fail: What Is It About Dr Pepper 10 That Women Don't Get?

I hope Dr Pepper does not cancel its interesting new campaign for Dr Pepper 10, a diet drink, which is catching flak for using the tagline "It's not for women." Even though the launch ad features a guy laser-fighting and snake wrestling his way through a jungle while criticizing romantic comedies, it's already provoking an irony failure in certain quarters. Dr Pepper's Facebook page is on fire. And Jezebel called it "anti-woman":

Jezebel ought to know better. This campaign isn't a chauvinist throwback. It's a wry commentary on the marketing truism that men often don't choose diet drinks. The ad virtually shouts its sarcasm -- at one point the Schwarzenegger stand-in shouts "catchphrase!" (And am I the only person who noticed that the man behind this campaign is marketing EVP Jim Trebilcock?)

The campaign appears to be largely stolen from a British campaign for the Yorkie chocolate bar, which carries the tagline "It's not for girls" and a logo of a red circle with a cross through it over a silhouette of woman carrying a handbag.

That campaign also ran into resistance in its early days, but as the last decade rolled by women have found the line oddly appealing. Take a look at this commercial and see if you can figure out whether the appeal is to boys or the girls who think they're stupid:

I suspect the same will eventually come true of Dr Pepper 10.

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