15 Insanely Terrible Advertising Campaigns You Won't Believe Are Real

Back in 2011, the folks over at Dr. Pepper found that men generally avoided diet drinks because they aren't perceived as "manly," and the result was this incredibly ill-conceived campaign for the company's new ten calorie soda. The TV spot shows a super macho man running around blowing things up in an action film, and he says to the camera, "Hey ladies. Enjoying the film? Of course not, because this is our movie!" Apparently Dr. Pepper 10 is a real man's beverage, so women can have romantic comedies and "lady drinks" while men have action movies and Dr. Pepper. It was already bad enough, but then the actual, official slogan is, "Dr. Pepper 10: It's Not For Women."

Aside from the fact that it's maybe not the best idea for a product to exclude 50% of the population, the commercial is also based on the idea that women don't like action films. What kind of awful stereotype is that? Is it supposed to be some sort of twisted reverse psychology, where men buy it because it's manly and women buy it because they're told not to? Do they think we're that stupid? Obviously there's some level of satire here, but it's simply not funny and in such bad taste that it's baffling that this aired for as long as it did.