Dr. Pepper Ten is for men: New product and ad campaign

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDOct 11 2011

Dos Equis, the maker of Dr Pepper, is rolling out Dr Pepper Ten, a 10-calorie soda with an ad campaign that asserts that the soft drink is “not for women.” To appeal to men, Dr Pepper made its Ten drink radically different than Diet Dr Pepper. It has calories and sugar unlike its diet counterpart.

A gunmetal-garbed can of the drink (which holds 12 fluid ounces) would contain 3 grams of sugar and 15 calories, compared to a standard Dr Pepper, with 150 calories and 40.5 grams of sugar. Other diet soft drinks - such as Coke Zero and Pepsi Max - have been marketed toward a male audience as well, but perhaps not as aggressively as Dr Pepper Ten, according to the Associated Press. One ad involves wrestling snakes, shooting lasers and engaging in other such 'macho' activities.

Dr Pepper said men, in particular, are dissatisfied with the taste and image of diet drinks. The company wouldn't disclose the formula of Dr Pepper Ten, but said that the drink has 10 calories and 2 grams of sugar, which gives it a sweeter taste. Dr Pepper said there are 23 flavors in its regular soda, (which has 150 calories and 27 grams of sugar per can) and Dr Pepper Ten contains all of them.

“One topic people never tire of talking or arguing about is differences between men and women, particularly if women are excluded,” said Deborah Mitchell, executive director for the Center for Brand and Product Management at the University of Wisconsin School of Business. “That will always get someone's attention.”

A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics found about half of people in the U.S. drink a sugary beverage a day, but that males ages 12 to 19 drank the most - for an average of about 273 calories a day. Studies have shown that even diet drinks are associated with weight gain. So for men (and women) who really want to cut back the calories, it might be better to cut soda and sugary drinks out of their day.

New York City's health department tried to get that message across with a series of gruesome ads on the subject, and the Center for Science in the Public Interest launched the “Life's Sweeter With Fewer Sugary Drinks” campaign this summer in cooperation with several major cities and health associations. The campaign hopes to cut consumption of such sugary drinks to about three cans per person a week by 2020.