• Ad Age , Thursday, October 23, 2008 10:45 AM

Back in the day, Dr Pepper's positioning was that it was "so misunderstood." According to an article by Natalie Zmuda and Michael Bush in Ad Age, a potentially costly PR stunt remains a bit of an enigma itself.

Earlier this year, Dr Pepper promised to give one can of soda to every American if Guns N' Roses delivered "Chinese Democracy," an album that has been 17 years in the making, to its fans. Now that a Nov. 23 release date has been set, Dr Pepper and its PR agency, Ketchum, aren't fielding reporters's calls. But Tony Jacobs, vp-marketing at Dr Pepper, did release a statement: "We never thought this day would come, but now that it's here all we can say is: The Dr Pepper's on us."

But Age feels that the deal raises as many questions as it answers from a business point of view. For one thing, if every American exercises his right to be a Pepper too, it could cost the company as much about $165 million. Who has that kind of money nowadays? But experts do weigh in. You've got to measure whatever Dr Pepper winds up spending in redeeming coupons against the value of the free publicity it's generating.

Read the whole story at Ad Age »