Dr Pepper TEN Celebrates One Great Year

We saw a lot of great things happen in the past year – a king earning his crown in the NBA championship, a first-time winner of the Stanley Cup – but the launch of Dr Pepper TEN still tops our list.

Nothing great was ever achieved without hard work and practice. That’s why it took three years for the flavor scientists behind Dr Pepper TEN to create the 10 bold calories that have captured the hearts and mouths of fans – male and female alike – on the heels of the not-so-subtle “it’s not for women” advertising campaign.

“The intention of the campaign was to get across that Dr Pepper TEN is a great-tasting, low calorie soft drink geared toward men, and we believe we were successful in doing that in a comedic manner,” said Leslie Vesper, director – Dr Pepper marketing. “When we tested the commercial among women, they got the joke because the campaign was so over-the-top in its manliness. We were actually poking fun at male stereotypes and I think that’s what most women found funny.”

Speaking of manliness, “The Man’ments” on the brand’s Facebook page are an ever-popular way to call out other dudes when they break any rule of the man code like “Thou shalt not make a Facebook profile for your pet, baby and/or imaginary friend.” The more than 2,000 “Man’ment breakers” show that sometimes, even the “boldest guys act like gossiping schoolgirls.”

But Dr Pepper TEN is far more than a unique marketing campaign, it’s a strategic investment behind a new sweetener blend designed to counter the attacks on sugar-sweetened beverages.

“We know that consumers are concerned about calories and sugar,” said David Thomas, executive vice president – research and development at Dr Pepper Snapple Group. “Dr Pepper TEN addresses that insight because the new sweetener blend delivers a great-tasting product with just 10 calories.”

And fans are responding. Dr Pepper TEN trial rates in the first three months since its launch were nearly 9 percent – significantly higher than other recent beverage industry innovations. In fact, the results were so positive, that DPS is testing 7UP TEN, Canada Dry TEN, A&W TEN, Sunkist TEN and RC TEN in parts of Iowa, Ohio and Pennsylvania. RC TEN is also being tested in Evansville, Ind., and Chicago.

For its first year, Dr Pepper TEN has come a long way – cheers to many more.