Ellen Degeneres tackles sexist ad campaign by Dr Pepper Ten

by Craig Takeuchi on Oct 24, 2011 at 4:47 pm

Earlier this month, Dr. Pepper rolled out a male-oriented advertising campaign. In an ill-conceived attempt to counter the perception that diet drinks are for women, its new 10-calorie Dr Pepper Ten was presented in gun-metal gray packaging and macho TV ads that proclaim "It's not for women".

(In other words, the campaign is trying to target men who feel so insecure about their masculinity that they will want to engage in misogynistic video games on a Facebook page that involves shooting feminine things like high heels and lipstick and excluding women to the point that things start to sound rather homoerotic. Maybe they should've taken a few lessons from the Tug Toner ad campaign?)

Needless to say, it's sparked quite the reaction.

Among those who have reacted is Ellen Degeneres. After seeing the commercial for Dr Pepper Ten, she realized she had to tweak her commercial for her book so that it would appeal more to men.

Check it out.

You can follow Craig Takeuchi on Twitter at twitter.com/cinecraig. You can also follow the Straight's LGBT coverage on Twitter at twitter.com/StraightLGBT.

Comments (13) Add New Comment
gindret
Oct 24, 2011 at 6:14 pm
This clip revealing the sad state of gender confusion and exploitation in the states didn't seem very funny to me.
3
6
Rating: -3
uknow
Oct 24, 2011 at 9:42 pm
Ellen used to have a sense of humour & was funny , years ago. Now she's boring & a phoney. Who the blank cares what she thinks or any other self absorbed hollywood type? Think I'll buy a dr pepper.
6
9
Rating: -3
:-(
Oct 25, 2011 at 8:29 am
I just love how Ellen is so self-righteous.

Women use sexist and demeaning remarks about men all the time and somehow that’s okay and usually a crowd pleaser. It's not fair.
6
5
Rating: +1
Nestor
Oct 25, 2011 at 8:44 am
@gindret: I would be interested to know what you mean when you write "gender confusion".
6
2
Rating: +4
Pat Crowe
Oct 25, 2011 at 8:46 am
Ellen coming at you with a strap on.
A fearsome thought.
1
2
Rating: -1
exasperated
Oct 25, 2011 at 10:43 am
It's funny. This commercial is obviously tongue-in-cheek and totally inoffensive. But IF it's offensive to anyone it's not women it's MEN for pete's sake. Look at the thing! It implies that all men are about is crap exploding and beer drinking nonsense etc etc. Yet somehow some people always manage to discover misogyny even in the depths of misandry. Good old feminist indoctrination at its best.
5
6
Rating: -1
gindret
Oct 25, 2011 at 10:56 am
@Nestor: by gender confusion, I was referring to the male stereotypes in the Dr Pepper ad and Ellen’s recut version of her own. First Ellen says ‘do you really want to offend half the population’ in response to the Dr Pepper ad and then she goes ahead and does that herself.

In regards to exploitation, Ellen shows her kooky ad (that is a real attempt to sell her book) and in the same breathe she slams the Dr Pepper ad. The Dr Pepper ad deserves to be slammed but what she doesn’t mention is that men are being exploited by this multi-national corporation by reinforcing male stereotypes that leads to gender confusion.
6
4
Rating: +2
just another dumb guy
Oct 25, 2011 at 12:34 pm
Yeah, I really think the Dr. Pepper commercials are much more offensive to guys. Seriously!! I'm offended that they think I would go for this ad campaign... The sad thing is, many guys will... No wonder that men's grades continue to fall compared to women's in high school and university. They are constantly portrayed as the dumber half, lazy, messy, slobby, easily distracted by tools and food. This is just an extension of that. Watch any commercial. When a couple is shown, who plays the dumb one who needs help?
5
6
Rating: -1
James G
Oct 25, 2011 at 2:08 pm
The ad is funny and Ellen's response is funny. Both were meant to be. It's hardly a crusade.
4
1
Rating: +3
Baffled
Oct 25, 2011 at 3:22 pm
We could always bring up Ellen's Covergirl ads... Whether it's Ellen, Oprah, or Rosie, not a one of them is genuine or interested in anything unless it garners attention for them. That's sort of a requirement of their jobs. If we don't take them too seriously they can't do too much damage.
5
5
Rating: 0
Really???
Oct 25, 2011 at 5:31 pm
it is funny...
1
1
Rating: 0
I'm baffled too
Oct 25, 2011 at 5:36 pm
@Baffled:

“If we don't take them too seriously they can't do too much damage.”

Ellen, Oprah, and Rosie are extremely influential women who have a huge and loyal following. You have to take that seriously. Women are the most influential consumer decision makers in the family and in general. You have to take that seriously too.

I agree that whether it's Ellen, Oprah, or Rosie, not one of them is genuine or interested in anything unless it garners attention for them. The one who bugs me the most is Oprah who eulogises about spirituality yet she’s soooo materialistic. I watched in horror before the big economic meltdown in the US how her magazine, website and shows taught women to become shopaholics (and glorified it).

I know, I know, no one is allowed to question Oprah as she’s a goddess and only worthy of worship …that is unless you’re not scared of straight talk like Bill Maher who tells it like it is…

Bill Maher's Christmas Message to Oprah Winfrey http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ro3wuck_ro
1
1
Rating: 0
uknow
Oct 28, 2011 at 11:39 pm
Adam Carolla put Ellen on his top 5 phoniest people list. He's met her. Have you?
1
0
Rating: +1
Add new comment
To prevent automated spam submissions leave this field empty.