Several years ago, Dr. Pepper started a new campaign of advertising in hopes of increasing sales of their new low-calorie soft drink. They made the assumption that low-calorie soft drinks are usually only appealing to woman, and thus went to the extent of having a man showcase his pride while drinking the new soda in the advertisement: "Mountain Men" (Dr. Pepper, Sierra Nevada, 2011). The hopes were that the actor's pride in masculinity would influence males to switch to Dr. Pepper 10.
The Dr. Pepper 10 commercial “Mountain Men” is directed toward male customers feeling pride by the use of several different male stereotypes. First, the entire setting of the commercial takes place outdoors and in the wilderness. Throughout the commercial, the actor is running through the woods, up cliffs, and walking in a river with a wild bear. It is commonly known that males are more persuaded by outdoorsy themed concepts and activities, which is exactly the intent of Dr. Pepper in this commercial. Another aspect that is used to appeal to the male stereotype is the use of imprudent humor. Near the beginning of the commercial, the actor rips off a piece of bark from a tree and proceeds to chew it. Furthermore, near the end of the commercial, the actor is riding in a canoe that a wild bear is rowing. These aspects are evidently directed toward males because usually males have a very immature, unrealistic sense of humor in comparison to most females.
The commercial “Mountain Men” is also unmistakably prideful toward men because the actor in the commercial has very masculine characteristics. Primarily, the actor in the commercial has a full grown beard and mustache. He also speaks in an extremely deep, masculine voice when describing the product. Another example of masculinity being displayed is not only through the actor’s characteristics, but by his actions. In the commercial, the actor carries a whole tree and also shatters glass like it is nothing to represent male strength. Moreover, the actor is interacting with wild animals to represent the absence of fear, which is usually something males tend to exemplify. All of these aspects are used as methods of persuasion because Dr. Pepper wants the viewer to feel the pride of being a man and believe that he will become a more masculine individual if he buys their product. Males' background knowledge of societal norms make them believe that they should be considered the strongest individual, and full of pride because of their "idealized" rank in society.
