As American culture becomes more homogenized and corporatized, one Texas town hoped its beloved Dublin Dr. Pepper wouldn’t become a casualty of the changing food landscape in the US.

Regional soft drinks are, indeed, often falling prey to changing market conditions like the saturation of chain restaurants in small American towns and cities, but Dublin Dr. Pepper was unique in both it’s super-strong regional following as well as cult cachet among people outside its distribution area. One notable reason is that unlike the fast majority of commercially-available sodas in the United States, Dublin Dr. Pepper was sweetened with cane sugar instead of high-fructose corn syrup, or HCFS. (Dublin Dr. Pepper was also sweeter than regular Dr. Pepper, but not the sickly kind of sweet found in mass-market beverages that use the cheaper sweetener.)

Naturally, Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, owner of regular Dr. Pepper, was displeased with the drink’s growing fanbase and accused the company of “trademark dilution.” Eventually a settlement was reached, and after 120 years of production, Dublin Dr. Pepper was discontinued on January 12th of this year. While locals are understandably displeased, they have another set of concerns- mainly surrounding commerce relating to Dublin Dr. Pepper.

Pantograph.com quotes a business owner in Dublin who’s sworn off Dr. Pepper beverages and even gave away her remaining stock free. She says that the decision will hurt businesses in Dublin that benefit from Dublin Dr. Pepper related tourism:

“I’m very concerned about my business in this economy, and now with this. What’s going to draw them to Dublin?” said Three Sisters gift shop owner Lisa Leatherwood, who gave away all her store’s Dr Pepper drinks on an outside table Thursday under a sign that read: “We no longer drink Dr Pepper products! Help yourself!”

Others liken the brand’s demise to the death in the family:

“You see somebody cutting your name out of something like it never happened, and that’s just gut-wrenching,” said Pat Leatherwood, vice president of First National Bank of Dublin. “You walk in stores all over town, and some people are mad. Some are upset. It’s like someone has died.”

An estimated 95,000 visitors flocked to the museum, soda shop and annual birthday celebration of the beverage. One bright spot for fans is that the company plans to regroup as Dublin Bottling Works, introducing a line of sugar-sweetened, HFCS-free beverages for soda purists. Did you get a chance to sample Dublin Dr. Pepper during its 120-year run?

Dublin Dr. Pepper’s Demise Saddens Texas Town, Threatens Commerce is a post from: The Inquisitr

Would women like a refreshing beverage with only 10 calories? Too bad. Dr Pepper’s new drink, Dr Pepper 10, is for men only.

The new ad campaign for Dr Pepper’s new soda is targeting the male audience. And apparently, men won’t drink a diet drink unless woman are excluded.

Here’s the new Dr Pepper 10 ad.

Dr Pepper’s new ad isn’t the only thing that is excluding women. It looks like the soda company doesn’t want women anywhere near its new beverage. The drink’s facebook page also features 1o Man’ments, which instruct Dr. Pepper drinkers on how to live more manly.

Here are a few of the Man’ments:

• Though shall not OMG – If it’s not exploding it’s not exciting.
• Though shall not pucker up – Kissy faces are never manly.
• Though shall not post pictures of your outfit – Unless it’s battle armor and you have a gigantic sword and/or small bazooka.
• Though shall not instagram your lunch – Real men eat their lunch, don’t tweet it.

CBS reports that Coke Zero and Pepsi Max were also aimed at men, but Dr Pepper 10 is taking a much more aggressive approach. DrPepper believes that men are dissatisfied with the image and taste of diet sodas, and they are hoping that this masculine campaign can change their minds.

Jim Trebilcock, executive vice president of marketing for Dr Pepper, said that at the very least, he hopes that the new campaign will get people talking.

Trebilcock said:

“Women get the joke. ‘Is this really for men or really for women?’ is a way to start the conversation that can spread and get people engaged in the product.”

What do you think of Dr. Pepper 10? Is it the manliest diet soda out there?

Dr Pepper 10 is For Men Only [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

The use of Facebook to advance or promote a cause- derisively dubbed “slacktivism” in the larger sense of just talking about problems instead of doing something concrete- sometimes helps an issue go viral and gather it mainstream attention.

This is no Arab Spring, of course, but Facebook is one of the tools being used to defend a small company in what has been termed the “Dr. Pepper feud.” (Something I would have guessed was what happens when you wake up at noon and discover someone drank your last can, a situation which heartily sucks.) You may not have realized that soda (or pop, if you’re from a flyover state) has some strange licensing and bottling quirks inherent to distribution, which makes it so small companies can get quite a foothold in regional markets while being virtually unheard of in other areas.

What you are probably unaware of is the massive shift in the food supply during the 80′s from cane sugar to high fructose corn syrup (HFCS.) While neither is a health food, the latter has been blamed for skyrocketing American obesity rates- if not for its chemical makeup, which is in dispute, definitely for its cheap and easy availability (America is apparently covered in corn.) If you’ve sampled kosher or Mexican Coke, you know that real sugar colas are way tastier than HFCS-sweetened mass stuff.

Which could be how the Dr. Pepper feud started. Texas-based Dublin Dr. Pepper- despite selling less than 1/100th of what nationally distributed Dr. Pepper sells- has been locked in a trademark dilution lawsuit with the company that owns Dr. Pepper and Snapple. Actually, even the president of the big Dr. Pepper admits that the cane sugar variant tastes “amazing”:

“The amazing thing with Dublin is they still have the pure cane sugar. It’s the original formula with Imperial sugar, and their following is unbelievable. Nothing tastes better when it’s ice-cold.”

The following so far has translated to a Facebook group of 5,000 fighting for Dublin Dr. Pepper‘s right to keep on bottling- and using the “Dublin Dr. Pepper” name and label. Which side do you favor in the Dr. Pepper feud? Should Dr. Pepper allow the regional variant, or does it stand to damage their trademark?

Dr. Pepper Feud Gets Boost From Facebook Supporters is a post from: The Inquisitr

Dr. Pepper had offered to give everyone in America a free bottle of soda if the long-awaited GNR project actually came out in 2008. So, when Rose and crew released “Chinese Democracy” this past Sunday, Dr. Pepper told everyone to come to its Web site and get a coupon.

The problem — the Dr. Pepper site wasn’t prepared for the traffic. Its servers buckled under the pressure, leaving many people unable to get through. Despite an extended deadline and the addition of a toll-free number to call for a coupon, Rose says the company “defrauded” customers, leaving scores empty-handed.

A letter sent by Rose’s attorney and obtained by E! Online demands a new extension of the promotion, along with full-page apology ads printed in the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and USA Today.

The letter goes on to say the campaign was an “exploitation” of Guns N’ Roses’ “legendary reputation and their eagerly awaited album,” claiming that “mocking undertones” in the effort combined with the “shoddy execution of [the] disingenuous giveaway offer” caused a “raw and damaging commercial exploitation of [Guns N' Roses] rights.”

It then requests “appropriate payment … for the unauthorized use and abuse of [Guns N' Roses'] publicity and intellectual property rights.”

Yikes. Get in the ring, indeed.

Dr. Pepper issued the following response in a statement to E! News:

“For us, this was a fun giveaway that has always been about the fans, and we’ve taken great steps to fulfill it, including:

• extending the window for the giveaway from 24 to 42 hours
• Adding a toll-free line to handle consumer requests for the coupons
• Setting up an interactive voice recorder to accept coupon requests.

This was one of the largest responses we have ever received for a giveaway, and we’re happy we were able to satisfy the thirst of so many Dr Pepper fans.”

Axl Rose Threatens Dr. Pepper Over “Shoddy” Web Promotion is a post from: The Inquisitr

Dr. Pepper appears to be overwhelmed by the response to its offer of free Dr. Pepper in honor of Guns N’ Roses long-awaited release of “Chinese Democracy.” The Dr. Pepper Web site, www.drpepper.com, is returning a number of errors today as its server seems to be being bombarded with more traffic than it can handle. Those who do get through past the errors are often finding themselves stuck on the Flash-heavy site’s “Loading” screen with no progress.

In case you hadn’t heard, Dr. Pepper said it’d give anyone visiting the site Sunday a 20-ounce soda following its statement earlier this year that it’d hand out free Dr. Pepper if Guns N’ Roses’ “Chinese Democracy” actually did come out in 2008. (The album — which is officially available for the first time today — had been in the works for 14 years and had seen more than a few delays.)

Take a note from Axl, though, and have some patience: The free Dr. Pepper coupon giveaway will remain active until 12:01 a.m. tonight. We’re assuming that’s Eastern time, although the company has never explicitly stated.

Dr. Pepper has also now set up a toll-free number for those unable to connect online. You can call 1-800-696-5891 to get your coupon.

Welcome to the jungle, baby. The free soda jungle, that is.

Why Can’t I Get My Free Dr. Pepper For Chinese Democracy? is a post from: The Inquisitr