No too long ago….I was asking Bone Daddy about some of the TV Ads that were coming up to be posted….and whether he has any memories from the vintage TV commercials….and he said that he and his good friend TNT both loved Dr. Pepper over Coke or Pepsi…..and that when they were with some girls and would be ordering soft drinks….when one of them would say “I’m a Pepper”….and then the other would say “I’m a Pepper”…..then they’d look to the prettiest girl in the group and ask…“Wouldn’t you like to be a Pepper too?”
The “I’m a Pepper” ad campaign started in 1977…..when 1st to hit the scene was the “Pied Piper” of Peppers, David Naughton….who appeared in many of the campaign’s commercials….as he later would be known for his role in the horror film, American Werewolf in London, in 1981. Other commercials soon introduced other famous Peppers – artists such as Michael Jackson and the Jacksons, Chic, The Statler Brothers, Tanya Tucker, the Little River Band, and Popeye the Sailor Man….so, thanks in part to its tenacious advertising….the campaign itself became the 3rd most popular in the U.S. in 1980.
In that same year of 1981….J.C. Penney announced that 1,800 of its stores would offer a variety of sportswear and accessories featuring the “I’m a Pepper” logo. From 1977-1982, it was pretty hard not to have heard or seen anything related to “I’m a Pepper” or “Be a Pepper” ….which basically ran it course at the end of 1983….when the ads changed to “Dr Pepper Made a Pepper Out Of Me.”
According to the Dr Pepper Company, “A Pepper is a person who loves Dr Pepper. So a Pepper can be anyone. And any age. Because being a Pepper is really more a state of mind than a counting of years. The only thing about a Pepper that’s sure is their absolute craving for originality. Even what they drink must be unique. Peppers aren’t weird, strange or oddball. They’re positive, self-confident, bold and willing to try something new. Peppers are proud. And Peppers are popular. So wouldn’t you like to be a Pepper too?” Well… would you?
