68 Comments

I could only watch to the :16 sec mark.
Utter crap. It must be a joke.
newman
2010-01-26 19:25:59

cringe is right, so incredibly cheeeesy. I get the image of some old school art director trying to keep up with what all the cool kids in marketing are doing these days.
Martin Duggan
2010-01-26 21:08:57

Wow, as would Kenny Bania would say : This is the worst, the WORST.
Can't believe they dared to do that, publish it on youtube, and took the risk to show this, with their brand on it, to potentially billions of people.

We don't have Dr.Pepper over here in France, but if we did, I would have my fridge do an embargo.
Benito
2010-01-26 21:18:31

WTF i'd fire the agency who thought that this idea would be great...MY GOD its awful......
tezza
2010-01-26 21:28:31

Not as bad as the Microsoft Store "bursting" into line dancing
Sergethew
2010-01-26 22:04:40

So bad it's good?!
Luke
2010-01-26 22:27:05

I believe this one was ironic though..they wanted to shit all over the whole concept...

but still .. I agree die flashmob die!
Juu
2010-01-26 22:27:51

@Martin Duggan.
Agreed. The punishment for this abomination should be a diet of only DrPepper for a whole year. Lets see who is a pepper after that.
Wajik
2010-01-26 22:46:18

I made it to 49 seconds.
adam Smith
2010-01-26 23:06:46

it reminds me of bad 80's kids TV.

truly truly terrrible
Lee
2010-01-27 01:34:05

I'm hard core, so I watched it right to the end.

I guess this just proves the fact that some people who work in advertising really don't have a clue. Which really pisses me off given that they earn a heck of a lot more than me!

Whilst the original flashmobs, (the non-adverting kind) were edgy and raw and exciting, this is just tired safe and dull. The fact that stockbrokers clap and cheer the performance at the end really says it all.
Michael Preston
2010-01-27 04:15:49

I feel violated. It's just wrong on so many levels! It reminds me of how that Berocca advert with the treadmills copied the OK Go video.
Hon
2010-01-27 05:03:15

[Comment deleted by moderator]

Who was the douche dude singing? Creepy chap
Alex
2010-01-27 09:44:00

HORRIBLE!!
jamie
2010-01-27 09:50:58

This 'ad' saddens me. No you're not a Pepper, you're a knøb.

What's the idea here? What am I now supposed to do?

"Dr Pepper will make you look like a desperate wannabe."
Graham.Creative.me
2010-01-27 09:54:20

This is just all kinds of wrong...
Amchu
2010-01-27 09:54:55

Not sure this was such a bad idea really. Here we all are, talking about it, spreading it to friends because it's soooo bad, and Dr. Pepper are getting our attention. No publicity is bad publicity.
Aimee
2010-01-27 10:02:51

Wrong on so many levels.
Mark Allsebrook
2010-01-27 10:13:13

God this is horrible. I can only hope it's ironic. But if it's ironical, it's not a very good at that either.
and @Aimee I pledge not to show it to anyone.
Karin
2010-01-27 10:34:28

Can't any of you taste the irony?
Matt Cooper
2010-01-27 10:38:52

Indeed Matt, it's supposed to be ironic. It's a shame nobody of buying age for Dr Pepper will remember the original. I can't, and I'm an Art Director. Check the original advert from 1978 here...

http://is.gd/78U3o
Graham.Creative.me
2010-01-27 11:15:24

it's time someone posted who are the agency, and possibly creative(s), responsible.

2010 is a year of accountability i was told?
beardy ditcherson
2010-01-27 11:42:00

Na. still won't drink that stuff.
Herts
2010-01-27 12:34:27

I love the fact this has been released on their own Youtube account and not virally, so they must be sat there reading all the amazing feedback and thinking.. what just happened?!!

Flashmobs were never cool, it has been done to death and yes it's funny seeing students invade tescos dressed as bananas but thats about the scope of Flashmobs.
John Instruct
2010-01-27 13:06:51

aweful.
I couldn't watch it all.
If i'd known the cultural link to the 1970s original that might have helped, but even then I'd still have struggled with this one. In my opinion.... fail.
peteherb
2010-01-27 13:43:50

As a man with the surname Pepper, this will almost certainly haunt me for years if it gets any mainstream. So thanks
Mr Pepper
2010-01-27 14:15:00

Every time I consider visiting the US, something like this happens.
Roger Mann
2010-01-27 16:16:33

but hey, spot on location!
stock market leaving a bad taste (in your mouth?)
sorry...
katrin
2010-01-27 16:35:59

but hey, spot on location!
stock market leaving a bad taste (in your mouth?)
sorry...
katrin
2010-01-27 16:37:36

Best Flashmob ever;-)
Viola
2010-01-27 16:51:05

Digging the leg-holding air guitar on 00:43.

Surely the cringe is deliberate? Unlike the Sony Ericsson actors on spacehoppers effort, which seems to have been produced with scary sincerity.
andy gibbard
2010-01-27 17:28:32

NYSE can't be impressed with having to clear up all that glitter.
schnabz
2010-01-27 18:17:05

It was crap then and it's crap now.
This is why people hate the advertising boys.
Not Another Graphic Designer
2010-01-27 19:18:49

Awful. Just. Awful. Ultimately we have Saatchi and Saatchi to blame for rebranding flashmobs as contrived public get-togethers. the whole point is they're spontaneous and subversive. Nothing about T-Mobile or any of the raft of so called flash mobs that have sprung up in its wake (does anyone remember that freaking awful Beyonce Trident flashmob at Picadilly Circus - google and be prepared to weep) bears any resemblance to what a flash mob actually is.
Consumers need to wake up, recognise insipid events like "Dance" and "Sing Along" as being well crafted attempts by brands to crash the counter-culture and stick a finger up at the marketeers responsible or we'll all end up subsumed in a generic social goop sttered by marketeers.
EnoughNowPlease
2010-01-28 00:29:47

At least no one had to make a phonecall before Dr Pepper's shares crashed.
Chris
2010-01-28 13:07:09

Nice brand demolition job though, who paid for this, Pepsi Co?

They would have been better running the original - its still got a certain style and confidence that this lakes, and at least its retro. This is just... embarrassing?
another chris
2010-01-28 21:32:23

whats the worst that could happen... despite being ironic following a recession... poor form
david
2010-01-29 00:15:12

"Security!"
zuko
2010-01-29 13:41:57

i wanted a warewolf to spring out of nowhere and rip his throat out, then howl. if that had happened it would be a fantastic ad. everyone wants that warewolf dollar...
david s
2010-01-29 14:19:41

Have you ever heard the Eddie Izzard wheel of cool? Starts off at the top as cool, hip and groovy and bases out with looking like a dickhead BUT (this is crucial) it's a circle so if you keep going you return to hip and groovy!

This is possibly so lame it's a stroke of genius! That's irony for ya.
Alan
2010-01-29 14:27:04

Should they, perhaps, have just run this original ad? Personally it would have had deeper impact, given the fact they're celebrating 125 years of the stuff this year (hence the pastiche). It's intended to be a take-off/pastche/tribute to the 1978 original...

Check out where this new ad began below:

http://is.gd/78U3o
Graham.Creative.
2010-01-29 14:29:00

Stop the press, unoriginal advertising campaign shocker!
Dom
2010-01-29 14:30:14

Utter S***
Has Advertising Just Got Lazy Because Of The Web
Red
2010-01-29 14:32:26

That was 1 min 45 seconds too long... Awful!
Peter Dawson
2010-01-29 14:33:26

To be fair to them...it could've gone like this. We've all been there.

Ring, ring!

Dr Pepper client: Hey, my wife showed me this thing called a "Flash Mob" on the internet. It was for a phone company or was it chewing gum...It could have been a constipation remedy - anyway I can't remember - But we should do one too. If you'd like to keep our huge account - just do me some "Flash Mob" ideas and I'll look at them Monday morning. OK bye.

Creatives: Oh, we'll give him flash mob alright. Stupid fucker.
Ace_of_Jase
2010-01-29 14:34:14

Did a 5-year old write those lyrics?!? Utter garbage. Dr Pepper used to be one of my favourite fizzy drinks. I willl now forever be haunted by this lame lame advert.
Alex Peterson
2010-01-29 14:34:34

I will NEVER drink Dr Pepper again. I heard he's not even a real doctor either.
Chad's Eye View
2010-01-29 14:35:42

@Sergethew

I agree; it's bloody aweful, but the MS store thing made me want to slap someone ... anyone.
n
2010-01-29 14:39:42

... although I am tempted to nip out of the office to grab a Dr Pepper ...

Damn you ironic advert!
n
2010-01-29 14:40:53

I run down to the grocery shop to get a bottle of mr.pepper and now I'm dancing with these guys in front of my laptop. My day just got so good.
Adrian
2010-01-29 14:48:35

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha cough ha.

It's not a flashmob - its a very bad song and dance routine. It's so bad that it might be deliberate.

Agree with the sentiments above - please stop hijacking Flashmobs for product placement and get creative again - think up something new.
Flashmob_UK
2010-01-29 14:57:02

I only got to 4 seconds. (My internet connection is really bad).

But having read all the comments, I REALLY want to see it badly now.

And I REALLY want a bottle of Dr P. now too. Darn it!
Hannah Beatrice
2010-01-29 15:37:32

Not a flashmob. Not even T-Mobile (shudder) was a pure flashmob.

Not ironic. The cheeks were too taut from cringing to force the tongue into.

Any publicity does not equal brand appeal. I like Dr Pepper but this incites me to boycott.
Rich
2010-01-29 15:48:59

ooh sweet jesus and all that is good. The marketing company who did this must of have been at gun-point to do this. If not, they need to put a gun on themselves. You should be ashamed of yourselves
Max Batty
2010-01-29 16:36:50

I run down to the grocery shop to get a bottle of mr.pepper and now I'm dancing with these guys in front of my laptop. My day just got so good.
Adrian
2010-01-29 17:24:47

Quote "It's difficult to know where to start with this film for Dr Pepper's" . . . . well, it may be difficult to know where to start, but I can make lots of suggestions about where to stop ! ! ! . . . . perhaps they made it so gut-curling BAD that it was bound to get talked about. . . . . Please don’t make me watch it again, I’ll even drink some Dr Pepper if you let me off that ! (But no way am I buying any after that advert ! ! !)
Philip Curnow
2010-01-29 18:01:03

Absolutely everyone in the video looks thoroughly embarrassed, as they should.
Jeremy
2010-01-29 18:02:53

Cringe-worthy is right. The locale just made it ten times worse.
Kumiko Ide
2010-01-29 19:23:37

This would be genius if it were a campaign for/by Mr. Pibb (Coca Cola's Dr. Pepper-esque brand).
Tim
2010-01-29 19:58:22

Acting hacks + talentless dancers + glitter. Not possible this has ever been rehearsed. Not once. Ever. Maybe a new reality advert approach?
Bob Beck
2010-01-29 20:52:03

Comment deleted by moderator
CUNTHEAD
2010-01-29 22:01:00

This is no different than any of the other 'Flash Mobs' other than a) after all of the others, and peoples' attention span has elapsed now and b) it's more blatantly selling a product than the previous 'Flash Mobs'. This is ironic, retro and people get the language / meme of it. Ergo it must be genius.
Mr Bassman
2010-01-29 22:48:02

i like the cheesyness of this.....bit of a pisstake on other flashmobs out there
Gary
2010-01-31 13:44:16

Painful.

Watched up to :18, skipped to the middle then the end. fails on all levels (no pun intended)
N
2010-01-31 14:24:11

[comment deleted by moderator] - 1/10
Pete
2010-02-01 11:02:00

T-Mobile take note, stop it with this pretend crap
James Stone
2010-02-01 20:59:31

major cringe
Emma
2010-02-02 17:20:23

You have to remember that in America this type of ad on mainstream TV is considered quite subversive and maybe even cute. Also this isn't a flashmob in the sense it has become known ('real' people). What, I thnk, makes this ad bad is the constant shots of 'surprised' workers. It may actually work if it was one shot. Obviously not for as long as the ad is, cos as bad as the ad is it's painfully long and drawn out.
The T-Mobile ones actually annoy me more.
Andrew
2010-02-02 22:20:01

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