“Trust Me, I’m a Doctor: New Dr. Pepper Commercial”

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A new commercial released by the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group features their famously unique-tasting soda, Dr. Pepper, with the support of big-name celebrities known to the entertainment world by their relationship to the word “Doctor”. The new slogan, “Trust me, I’m a doctor”, ends the commercials endorsed by basketball player Julius Erving- “Doctor J”, writer of KISS hit “Calling Doctor Love”- Gene Simmons, and most recently, American record executive and producer “Dr. Dre”.

Dr. Dre’s commercial relies heavily on all modes of persuasion, and fools the audience of the celebrity’s authority. The commercial begins with Dr. Dre amidst a stylish, upscale house party in a very metropolitan area. The colors of the house are reminiscent of a night-club, and everyone there is wearing fashionable clothes in rich, dark colors. This alone is a drawl for consumers, who are interested in watching the commercial for its visual effectiveness. Dr. Dre begins his monologue with a command of the room and a charismatic way that even makes a young female bartender smile while she hands him a Dr. Pepper. He is charismatic and uses a vocal tone that is easy to understand and conveys the “smoothness” of a slow-pouring glass of the soda- this delivery is derived from pathos. He says, “Scientific tests prove that when you drink Dr. Pepper slow, twenty-three flavors taste even better.” This is misleading logos, as we are not sure if there really are scientific tests done on the drink unless cited in the commercial; some consumers, though not many, may question the authority of Dr. Dre in this statement.

The music celebrity continues to command the room as he walks outside to a dance floor. He pronounces, “For me, slow always produces a hit.” While watching the commercial, this logos does not jump out as a generalization of Dr. Dre’s success in the music industry, but it seems cool enough for the watcher to take his word because of his international fame. The outdoor party appears to the consumer as boring, and there is some humor added by a small, socially awkward d.j. that is dancing in the corner tables to his bouncy club music. Again, logos is used as Dr. Dre walks straight toward the d.j. and puts his Dr. Pepper on one of the turn tables. The music is immediately slowed to a song, and a multitude of chic dancers engulf the floor at once. This is a convincing way to show ethos, and the support of his statements add logos to the argument: “Slower is better. Trust me, I’m a doctor.”

Another fallacy of this commercial is Dr. Dre’s promotion of a unreleased album clip that is played in the background during the last scene. While being a distraction from the product being sold, this excites anticipating viewers and encourages them to watch the advertisement multiple times or tell their friends to view it. As a diversion, it leaves the mental connection between a cool new release song and the desire to buy Dr. Pepper products, which really has no correlation. The cool atmosphere supplied in the commercial cannot be bought by purchasing a Dr. Pepper, and the party goers’ response to the soda is because of actors and extras that are told how to react to the introduction of Dr. Pepper. Perhaps the greatest logical fallacy comes from the nicknames of the celebrities, referring to them as “Doctors”. Whether meant to suggest knowledge or remind people of taking a prescription from a health care provider, the name correlation gives consumers a sense of trust in the authority of a music expert to determine what soda products they should buy. Pretty big stretch- and yet, it works.