Here Today... Gone To Hell!

We are surprised and very happy to have the support of Dr. Pepper with our album Chinese Democracy as for us this came totally out of the blue. If there is any involvement with this promotion by our record company or others we are unaware of such at this time. And as some of Buckethead's performances are on our album I'll share my Dr. Pepper with him.

Axl Rose

---

Oct 22nd addition:

HOW TO GET YOUR FREE DR PEPPER

    1. On the Nov. 23, 2008 release date, go to  www.drpepper.com
    2. Register your information to receive a coupon for one free 20-oz. Dr
       Pepper.
    3. When your coupon arrives, redeem it wherever Dr Pepper is sold.
    4. Drink your Dr Pepper slowly to experience all 23 flavors.  Dr's
       orders.



Coupons will be available for 24 hours, starting at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time on Nov. 23, 2008. Allow 4-6 weeks for coupon to arrive. Coupons will expire on Feb. 28, 2009. Limit one coupon per person. Full terms and conditions available at www.drpepper.com .

---

Dr Pepper Will Give Everyone* in America a Free Soda If Axl Rose Releases New Guns N' Roses Album, Chinese Democracy, In 2008
*Guitarists Slash and Buckethead Will Not Be Eligible For Free Soda

PRNewswire
PLANO, Texas
(NYSE:CSG)

PLANO, Texas, March 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Tired of a world in which Americans idolize wannabe singers and musicals about high schoolers pass as rock 'n roll music, Dr Pepper is encouraging (ok, begging) Axl Rose to finally release his 17-year-in-the-making belabored masterpiece, Chinese Democracy, in 2008.

In an unprecedented show of solidarity with Axl, everyone in America, except estranged GNR guitarists Slash and Buckethead, will receive a free can of Dr Pepper if the album ships some time -- anytime! -- in 2008. Dr Pepper supports Axl, and fully understands that sometimes you have to make it through the jungle before you get it right.

"It took a little patience to perfect Dr Pepper's special mix of 23 ingredients, which our fans have come to know and love," said Jaxie Alt, director of marketing for Dr Pepper. "So we completely understand and empathize with Axl's quest for perfection -- for something more than the average album. We know once it's released, people will refer to it as "Dr Pepper for the ears" because it will be such a refreshing blend of rich, bold sounds -- an instant classic."

Show your support for Axl and get on the nightrain of encouragement at http://www.chinesedemocracywhen.blogspot.com/ -

About Dr Pepper

Dr Pepper is a leading brand in the beverage portfolio of Plano, Texas-based Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages (CSAB), a subsidiary division of Cadbury Schweppes plc (NYSE: CSG). CSAB is one of the largest producers of soft drinks and premium beverages in the Americas. CSAB's brand portfolio includes Dr Pepper, 7UP, Snapple, Accelerade, Mott's Apple Juice and Sauce, RC Cola, A&W Root Beer, Sunkist Soda, Canada Dry, Hawaiian Punch, Schweppes, Diet Rite, Clamato, Mr & Mrs T Mixers, Holland House Mixers, Rose's, Mistic, Yoo-hoo, Orangina, IBC, Stewart's, Nantucket Nectars and other well-known consumer brands. For additional information on CSAB and its products, visit http://www.brandspeoplelove.com/.

SOURCE: Dr Pepper

CONTACT: Chris Kooluris of Ketchum for Dr. Pepper, +1-646-935-4098,
Chris.Kooluris@ketchum.com

Web site: http://www.brandspeoplelove.com/
http://www.chinesedemocracywhen.blogspot.com/

---

Note: I didn't put this up earlier because I wanted to check the validity of the above press release.



/jarmo

axl's comment about sharing the dr. pepper is awsome lol   : ok:

and awsome news  :beer:

Now it's time for us all to read too much into this ... I'll go first edit:  er, second.

Axl gonna share his Dr Pepper with Buckets. Well you only get a free one if it comes out this year so hears hoping this means something, even though it doesn't ha ha ha.

also this confirms that bucket at least partially remains on the album   :peace:

Jarmo thanks for posting a message from Axl :beer:

amazing

Awesome! Thanks J man.

This is awsome, btw jarmo, is this message from axl direct to you , or from a friend of a ...



btw, If the record company passes up this perfect opportunity for FREE publicity,
then they are dead stupid. I mean this is a first on so many levels, and it would get world wide publicity due to this...


HERES TO CHINESE DEMOCRACY IN 08

Great to hear from Axl!! 

This is actually pretty funny of Dr. Pepper.

That's a whole lot of Dr. Pepper.

It's great to hear from Axl again  :beer:

It's time to read too much into this as someone was saying...Buckethead its in the album, thats good   :D and if Axl is sharing it that means its coming out this year? Hope so hehe :hihi:

wow, the man speaks! 

I guess we still have no real release date..but the album exists!

i want my Dr. Pepper  ;D ... and CD

I say its a perfect opportunity.  If the record company won't pay for promotion, let Dr. Pepper pay for it.  It's win-win really.  They should take advantage of this, seriously.

CHINESE DEMOCRACY STARTS NOW!

So when they share their soda, will they use two glasses, or two straws in the same can, or alternate taking sips from the can?  The possibilities are endless.  Though the mental image of the two of them with the two straws is quite funny. ;D

This is wicked promotion for the band and album : ok:

Thanks for posting Jarmo :beer:

Right on! Thanks Jarmo!  : ok:

What an opportunity!


Best news in ages...  :beer:

Sounds to me like were getting Chinese Democracy this year...Dr.Pepper is now officially my favourite pop for getting some worlds from Axl haha : ok:

This would be great !  Mentions of Axl and CD by a major soda company, everyone is excited !!!!

The world would be a better place with CHINESE DEMOCRACY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :peace: :peace: :peace:

its on Blabbermouth now too

AXL ROSE Is Thankful For 'Free Dr Pepper For Everyone' Campaign - Mar. 26, 2008 
 
Tired of a world in which Americans idolize wannabe singers and musicals about high schoolers pass as rock 'n roll music, Dr Pepper is encouraging (OK, begging) Axl Rose to finally release his 17-year-in-the-making belabored masterpiece, "Chinese Democracy", in 2008.

In an unprecedented show of solidarity with Axl, everyone in America, except former GN'R guitarists Slash and Buckethead, will receive a free can of Dr Pepper if the album ships some time ? anytime! ? in 2008. Dr Pepper supports Axl, and fully understands that sometimes you have to make it through the jungle before you get it right.

"It took a little patience to perfect Dr Pepper's special mix of 23 ingredients, which our fans have come to know and love," said Jaxie Alt, director of marketing for Dr Pepper. "So we completely understand and empathize with Axl's quest for perfection ? for something more than the average album. We know once it's released, people will refer to it as "Dr Pepper for the ears" because it will be such a refreshing blend of rich, bold sounds ? an instant classic."

Show your support for Axl and get on the nightrain of encouragement at this location., http://www.chinesedemocracywhen.blogspot.com/

Commented Axl Rose in a statement: "We are surprised and very happy to have the support of Dr. Pepper with our album, 'Chinese Democracy', as for us this came totally out of the blue. If there is any involvement with this promotion by our record company or others, we are unaware of such at this time. And as some of Buckethead's performances are on our album, I'll share my Dr Pepper with him." 
 

Are they just giving out regular DR. Peppers or a cherry vannilla Dr. Pepper? Or is there a whole new Axl, Chinese Democracy flavor coming out?

Ahahaha so fuckin cool!  i have been drink Dr P 4 a week now not knowing any of this werid. 

Peace

"no soda for slash", first single.

hey, cool news and yes, great to hear from Axl again.

This is some feel good, positive press for CD.  I hope it is the start of something .........

I think what would be an awsome idea in this thread,
is if everyone posted the links eg blabbermouth, metal sucks etc to post links to this story,
cause I just wanna see how quickly this spreads



btw, A few people on other forums said they contacted dr pepper, and they said that this leaked early, and there is going
to be a huge promotional ad/marketing campaign coming very soon, and they werent really happy that all this leaked early,
but their glad about the positive reaction...

I'm a Pepper... ;D

Looking forward to that free can. : ok:

its on gnr's myspace now as well

www.gunsnroses.com

updated as well, new pic and all

first update since last fall!

Brilliant ;D

I wont get a free Dr. Pepper though, living in England and all  :(

Aw hell....I'd have Chinese Democracy instead. That > free soda  :smoking:

Well if Axl is going to share his Dr. Pepper with Bucket, then that means he intends to have a release date this year ......

I hope Axl appreciates the positive reaction to the ad, and sees that there still is a lot of positive support for him and CD

I'll send you one! : ok:

Only if we can do a b&p though, send me an empty can and self addressed & stamped envelope!

Thats a fucking mad picture on the gunsnroses.com site


THE BALL WILL ROLL DOWN THE CHINESE DEMOCRACY SLIDE IN 2008




(http://www.gunsnroses.com/images/news/080326axl512x288.jpg)

from the gnrsite

That is amazing! Thats really cool of Dr Pepper and I honestly feel they are speaking for music fans everywhere. It is really sad and pathetic to look around at music today.

I think one of the biggest reasons music sucks and doesnt sell is because there just arent any stars anymore. Axl is the ultimate rock star that if someone had to clone the perfect one, most of the traits and abilities would be straight from him.

So its definitely out of left field but very welcomed and lets hope we are all drinking a Dr Pepper this year!!!

Some news is good news. We may have actually reached the start of promotion of CD.

DEAL! ;D

I shall sip it whilst enjoying C.D. Preferably on a hot summers day : ok: 8)

I havent been this excited in a while. I dont want to speculate though, so im just gonna sit back and see what unfolds.

If it truly a co promotional tool, that would be awesome, but Im gonna wait and see.

I think its pretty fuckng cool, and why not, lets get this thing goin!

I don't buy it.


I bet we're going to get a press release from Dr P denying that they are involved in it.   Or at the very least, if we see Chi Dem we won't see free Dr P.

I don't believe that it's sourced from Dr P.

you cant be that stupid, I mean cmon, can you read

go to www.gunsnroses.com

or their gnr myspace

AXL CONFIRMS IT,

WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT A PRESS RELEASE FROM THE PRESIDENT?

Way to go Dr. Pepper! I hope Axl  and/or the record company gets this album out soon! Chinese Democracy Promo Starts NOW!!!!

If Axl's sharing his Dr Pepper with Buckethead that means i'll be rocking out to CD in 2008 !!! Axl's a nice guy to share his with BH we all should of known Better ha ha ha !!!!

You fucking dumbass. :) GNR and Dr P are not the same.

I haven't seen anything official from Dr P to confirm that they issued it, that was my point.  I'm not doubting Axl's comment.  I'm doubting that it's ACTUALLY from Dr P.  

And hey, I hope I'm wrong.  Time will tell.  So yes, a press release from Dr P or even the president of Dr P.

Perhaps this is a early April fools day gag.None the less I think this is a good idea for marketing that no one has ever thought about.

It's good to hear from Axl ! 

I would not at all be surprised if this was actually a planned promotion.  If the record company was concerned about making money in age of digital downloads and the state of the music industry... then sponsorship for the release would probably seem attractive. 

Also,perhaps Axl will release soon considering all the recent press about China's crack-down on Tibet.

Yessssssssssssssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Please let this be the year!!!!

I don't drink soda...but if this is really true, I will be buying a goddamn case of Dr. Pepper!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  It will go well with my album-release meal of Chinese food.   :drool:

Sweet Jesus it's almost here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   :beer:

Agreed , Axl sounds kinda like " Wow thats cool " but I just doubt its from Dr.P I haven't seen anything official from them.

It's linked from brandspeoplelove.com. A domain owned by the Cadbury Schweppes company.

http://www.brandspeoplelove.com/csab/Home/tabid/36/Default.aspx

Click Newsroom and News Releases.




/jarmo

Reading actual news section does help. I admit I was a bit skeptical last night when I heard this, but far stranger things happen everyday.. Glad to se confirmation for this. So its looked at just a joke.

and Jarmo has confirmed this


so what more do you need?

I just dont know why people cant be positive and happy for guns when soemthing good happens, I mean what are you afraid of?
Progress...

The blog's privacy policy seems to have contact information for Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Inc.

http://drpepperprivacypolicy.blogspot.com/

So what do we make of this?  I called Schwepps today, like many others, and was told:

1)  The marketing program was leaked early;
2)  This was a joint promotion between Dr. Pepper brand and Guns N Roses
3)  Asked for information about where I heard of the promotion and asked for my zip code and phone number so they could contact me with more information

I find the whole thing really odd, but exciting.  The rep I spoke with at Schwepps was definitely trying to get marketing demographic information from me.  I used to do Market Research and Promotions work, but way before a lot of the web-based viral marketing out there today.  Is this simply a ploy by Dr. Pepper or a witty start of promotion for the album?  Weren't we told awhile ago that they were looking for innovative ways to promote the album???

It's either a kooky Dr. Pepper campaign that shows an appetite for GNR in pop culture still exists, or perhaps something larger presaging the release.  Either way, at least it's something!

Well, I don't think Jarmo would ever post this story in the HTGTH news section if it wasn't true. And that was class of Axl to not only respond, but to respond in such a positive way. I liked the Buckethead comment as well (him and Bumble are both great, admit it ;)). This is the most excited I've ever been about this album (actually getting released).

If this release had been posted on April 1st, it would have broken my heart..

Among other things, this will undoubtedly boost the US economy....the stimulus package called free Dr Pepper I mean....  : ok:

Isn't DP owned by Pepsi?

This is really strange.  :hihi:

Never a dull moment, even when things can get a little, uhhhhhh, dull.

But even if nothing materializes, this was good for a laugh.  No one tells a story like Axl!

(Seriously though, I'm so excited!  :hihi:)

to say the least...

please Axl, please,

thats all i can say...  :yes:

This is so bizarre and "dangerous".  Ha!  Chinese Dr. Pepper begins now.  That should be the first single.  Cool response by Axl.  Hope it happens.  

axl has a free ride of publicity now, that can be milked for all its worth

and I wouldnt be suprised if the stakes are raised and if some other corperate company/businessman etc
jumps on board to raise the stakes and throws money at axl to see if he bites

This is gonna turn into a fun waiting game

Look for 'specially marked cans featuring gnr related graphics and 'codes' pretty soon' .... seriously!  :beer:

Viral marketing starts now!  : ok:

This will probably be tied into a late May to early June release of the album.

I stand corrected.

However - Jarmo's post was made after mine.   It's not a case of being happy or not for GNR.  It's a case of not getting my hopes up after fuck knows how many years.  And that's not a rag on the band either, I just choose to be skeptical.   GNR fans are rabid for rumours and with the amount of over analysis and excitement that gets generated when Axl takes a dump or appears in public, I have every right to be.

So if it's all official (and it appears that it is) then it's great news.   It doesn't bring us closer to the release as far as I can tell, but it's still better than NO publicity.

this is very strange. who on the board found this and how did he/she tumble upon it , just curious.

so this is for real?

What if album is released only because of Dr. Pepper.  What bench mark does that send?   ::)  So every time fans want something, some company pushes a big promotion?  Interesting, could be the future.  I am surprised nobody tried this with a Led Zeppelin Reunion tour.  

IF the GNR camp are involved...what a unique and effective way of letting EVERYONE know the album is dropping.  If CD does come out, you'd imagine every local radio station and most local news programs would mention the free Dr Pepper.

I think the diehards should get a free can of Bodingtons.   :beer:

If you think about it, and get over the fact its a soft drink promotion, this will be huge and plastered on every news channel. Can you imagine how big this will be if they actually do give out free Dr. Peppers? I don't know how they'd go about it, but this will be HUGE.

hey guys, i saw this on another board, don't know if its photoshopped or not. (look at the bottom of the can)

(http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s119/brian0612/pepper_cancopy.jpg)

It's on the Cadbury Schweppes web site as I mentioned earlier.




That's just ridiculous.


The only thing this can do is make more people aware of GN'R and the album.

It doesn't mean every album will get released only after there's a sponsor behind it.





Looks fishy. Especially the old 2002 coloring of the logo.





/jarmo

I like it even if it was photoshopped. Looks kick ass.   I would buy 10 cases of GNR  Dr Pepper!!

This was posted this morning on Blabbermouth.com Jarmo knew about it HOURS ago, i posted it and it was deleted, only once he heard from Beta/Axl that it was legit or something worth ocmmenting on did he allow it to stay up

Hey, this is great promotion for Dr. Pepper.  Just look at the whole "free taco" promotion last year by Taco Bell during the World Series.  Everybody in the US got a free taco after the first stolen base in the series, lines at taco bell were deep down the street on that day.  This is how they do it these days.  Let's hope it happens.

thanks axl in lafayette. nice job getting the news first, even if you were deleted at the start!

wow i initially assumed this was an April Fools joke but it would be pretty cool if it helped in some way make the album release a reality

smishkey found it on AOL's blog.

That was the first post here about it.


Readers of the NY Post might've seen it in their Page Six section.



/jarmo

photoshopped 100%

at least this means axl is thinking of releasing the album this year

When were you led to think otherwise  ???


It's the same thing with people thanking Mysteron like he is some kind of a messiah for saying Axl is concentrated on putting the album out. Of course Axl is...Has been pretty serious for the last 2.5 years at least with the clear intention to put it out each of those years....We don't need people to tell us that or remind us that every day because somehow you see plans might have changed and the latest plan might be to NOT put the album out.......People should really start feeling more secure, less dependent, and use common sense every once in a while..... :yes:

Wow! great news. their marketing campaign worked on me ... now if you will excuse me, I have to go to the store.

So here's the question, if the marketing program leaked early then maybe it was actually meant to be an April Fool's joke? Does anyone else think that may be a possibility?

I don't wanna get ahead of myself, but I'm gonna.  I can't wait to see Axl in a Dr. Pepper commercial.  Although that would be like a Super Bowl caliber commercial.  It'd have to be aired during some huge event to get maximum exposure.

OHHH MYY FUCKING GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


THIS IS TOO FUCKING COOL MAN!!!!!!! :headbanger:


this is too fucking perfect in every single fucking way. They're biggest fear was promotion at a low price well the record company and Axl have hit the mother fucking jackpot :headbanger:

I hate Dr. pepper to no end because i think it tastes like shit but i don't care, Dr. Pepper is the greatest shit ever, WAY BETTER than anything else on earth. Better than weed beer pussy the whole sha-bang-a-band :headbanger:








:headbanger: ..............had to get one more in :hihi:

:peace:

No. If it was, they would have said it was an April Fool's joke that leaked, instead of leaked. They also would have not said it was a joint venture between the two.

thats how they can market for CHINESE DEMOCRACY 2.0 :headbanger:

well Axl said that he would "share his" Dr. Pepper with Buckethead..does that mean the record is coming out in 2008? :hihi:

that is soooo fucking cool! but looks fishy as Jarmo said BUT IF IT ISN"T :headbanger:


:peace:

You would think so.  I mean, this is a cute little story and garners attention for Dr. Pepper even if CD doesn't come out.  But of course the ultimate payoff would be for CD to come out, then it'd be great promotion for both GNR and Dr. Pepper.  Both sides would win.  I would think/hope/pray that both sides know of a specific plan in place to at least try to release the album this year.

THis is 100 percent legit. I dont see how anyone could say anything remotely negative about this.

Dr Pepper getting their "23" ingredient thing in there proves the shit is legit. Also, Axl isn't gonna respond to something that isn't true.

I do think some people may be reading between the lines a little too much.


Axl saying he will share his Dr Pepper with Bucket is gonna be used by negative naysaying haters if the album doesn't come out this year as a "Promise" from Axl when in fact that isn't what he said. He just said he'd share a Dr P with Bucket meaning his stuff is still on the album *which I am very excited about* and he can always buy a Dr Pepper in 2020 if he wants.

So that is in no way a promise or a guarantee from Axl.


It is, however, always very exciting to hear from Axl.

I think we all *Me the most* need to remember that partly what makes Axl so special, *besides the obvious* is the fact that he isn't a media whore and doesn't overexpose himself. So when he does appear or make an announcement, its really fucking huge.

I think thats in part some of the appeal for all of us still being here all these years.

we can be the most bitter, most ignorant but as soon as Axl speaks we all reunite as one big happy loving group. : ok:

Good thing I got in line early Spider.  You can call me cute now while looking at my ass from the end of the line.   ;D

I don't think i'd ever drink it, i'd just put in one of those kinda picture frame like things and just put one of the three albums i'm getting in there with a certificate of authenticity and everything :headbanger:







ps: some very wise words there D i agree 100% : ok:

Amen to that, but its the truth, regardless of wherever , whoever , if you a GNR fan, these things bring excitement, for sure, and thats should only be positive for the band, regardless of the forums and boards , on the net, . I for one hope this is a positive push for US the fans to finally hear what this band has been so long working on. IF it takes a Dr. Pepper, endorsements, so be it. I dont care. I like this great community just want to back and support the band in the end, We know the greatness to come its all we want.

Something about this seems so fishy though.  Dr. Pepper is not really associated with music to a large degree.  What is in this for Dr. Pepper?  Title sponser of huge tour maybe?  There is something in it for them, but what.  Don't think for one second they are doing this out of the kindness of their hearts.

The DR Pepper shot?  lol

I just think that it is awesome that after all these years, I thought we had exhausted every possible release strategy and angle imaginable.

Axl, if this is true, will once again prove how far ahead he is of everyone when it comes to shit like this. Can u imagine the publicity and exposure of having that on one of the most popular beverages around?

What would be even more awesome, is if they included some sort of "Free Download' in each case or 12pack of Dr pepper that allowed u to DL the first single for free. GNR would get a percentage from the sales and there first single would get the most prime exposure imaginable.

Huge exposure for free?


They wrote a press release and made a few blogs.

For that, they've already been mentioned on AOL, RollingStone.com, Billboard.com, NYPost.com etc etc.





/jarmo

A lot is in it for Dr Pepper


Same reason Pespi had Micheal Jackson, Same reason Coke had Micheal Jordan.

U tie your brand in to one of the greatest bands ever to expose your product to a new demographic.

Ya, but the drink still tastes the same and ain't that great.  Had one today and was full after 3 sips.  

GNR are the huge winners here. Dr. P is almost "exploiting" GNR to sell more Soda.  They may have an initial response and it may prove to be a big campaign.  In the mean time, this is BIG for GNR if DP is serious about pushing them.  Bud Lite, or Miller Lite would have been a much bigger move.  However, you don't have to be 21 to drink Dr. Pepper.

I didn't see this answered, if it is I missed it, but is the Dr pepper can with the gnr logo real or fan-photoshopped?  and if it is real, is that 9/9/08 date what dr pepper thinks is the release date?

as the saying goes, word of mouth promotion is the best promotion you can get

And guess what

Both Gunners and the doc are getting this , for what?
How much money has it cost either of them so far for this publicity? Nothing, Ziltch...

This is awsome shit

Pepsi paid Michael Jackson, and Coke paid Michael Jordan.  Is DP paying Guns N Roses?

Fake.




People who are already thinking Axl will appear in ads etc need to read the first post again before getting "too excited".

The band didn't know about this.



/jarmo

That gave me a great big belly laugh, thanks.

Haha it's the first ever 3-D soda can.  Complete with a flat logo that sticks out on rounded edges!!!  When Dr. Pepper and GNR come together, you better damn well believe that innovation and creativity are going mach three.  :rofl:

If the band truly didn't know of this, and if DP did this out of goodness of heart expecting no financial benefits, than yes, this is cool as hell.

Ridiculous. It's called marketing.

 :hihi:



Who cares?????

That is one awesome looking can.


The band may not have initially had any part or idea of this campaign, but that doesn't mean they can't contact dr pepper and make a huge promotional campaign out of this.

I think it would be an awesome idea, I think Axl's legacy and credibility has been supplanted long enough now where he doesn't have to worry about losing any cred.  I think this is great business sense and I can't really find any negatives in this.

There are tons of ways to do it that would make it great. Like the Free Download of the first single in every 12pack or case etc.

I don't think GNR have to appear in any Dr pepper commercials. I mean I dont want to see Axl and Robin sitting around sipping on Dr peppers before going onstage, but I think u can do it in another way to make it cool.

Cool press release.

Good thing I'm not a DP fan - if CD is released in 08, they're going bankrupt!  :rofl:

Maybe Dr. Pepper need Guns N' Roses more than Guns N' Roses needs Dr. Pepper?  I tend to think Chinese Democracy could be huge regardless.  Dr. Pepper may just be trying to tie in with them.  Free loading of GNR kind of.  I am just looking at all sides.

Any press is good press.

its almost an impossible promise... Ha!  Maybe they know its not coming out, so free marketing and don't have to give a way one can of Dr. Pepper.  Brilliant!

By the way it sounds, I think there's a hot shot executive who really digs GN'R, and it kinda snowballed from there.

I agree... By why in this recession, would you bank on GNR for your marketing scheme????  It doesn't make a lot of sense right now, I am sure it will with time.  Its great for GNR though.

It's funny how this discussion is now being entertained by this board.  Prior to Axl's response this thread was deleted upon post.  Fn pathetic :-*

For sure, you could have teens going to a GNR show, driving and sipping, Dr. Pepper, while the radio is playing"Better"..   while before they go show pro shot clips of the band at home they are watching on "illegal" downloaded presumably  gigs... and getting to the venue and passing a pepper, to a friend getting out of the car, and then say "this is legal".lol We cant be thrown out for this.

This is so wild, it just may work.  I respect the creativity.

Because most GN'R fans will buy a lot of soda?  That will definitely boost your quarterly profits.

People who can read understand the reason.

Coming to a message board without basic comprehension skills. Fucking pathetic.  :-*




/jarmo

Ya, you are right.  If CD is released, that is huge for DP.  If not, they don't lose much.  So its got a good risk/reward ratio!

(http://www.movieposteraddict.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/mpathedarkknightjokerposter.jpg)

No soup for you, next!


I hope it was worth it.

 : ok:



/jarmo

Nice to know the porch light is still on!

I truly hope differences can be settled and the album is unveiled to the public this year. Axl and  the band deserve the fruits of their labors and the fans have been waiting for the earth to crack for a long time.

This is really strange.  Cool...but strange.


I think, if this is due to a REAL connection between the label and Dr. Pepper, rather than simply a random press release, that big music's experimenting with a way to make up lost revenue due to downloading and really, really crappy music (not GNR...just in general).


They did a commercial with Run DMC a few years back.  Not sure if they released an album around that time or not.


Dude...all soda cans are 3D.  :hihi:

Freedom, wow, you like my posts.. Ha.  There is a lot more to this that we don't know. So hard to speculate.  Something is up.  But we thought with Harley Davidson too... But this is much different than that.

Got popcorn?

Im all positive and for this , as I think it will bring cd closer to us


but axls press statement seems like he has no idea/clue about the dr pepper promotion thing,
Which is weird because, you would think, at the very least, axl would know every single detail about
the promotional campaign of chinese democracy....
So at the same time, just thinking logically, and im not saying its one way or not, but
if axl did have some insight ,and say for hypothetical reasons that Axl knew/the label knew about
this and the whole dr pepper campaign was pre - planned, agreed too, then this means that chinese democracy really
is coming out this year, cause if it doe
snt, not only axl looks bad, but so will dr pepper...
just my thoughts and opinions

someone posted this at another site, and Makes perfect sense...

I think that about sums it up.

Guns N Roses will always be my favorite band I don't care if they did a commerical for skittles.  Some people still think its a fake promotion or april fools joke well I don't think Axl would respond to something that is a rumour or a joke.

The thing that I can't figure out is why would Dr. Pepper do this if this was just a joke.  What would a little bit of extra publicity mean to a company like Dr. Pepper?  If it isn't a joke, and there wasn't a distinct possibility the record would be released, then, again, why would Dr. Pepper do this?  A little extra promotion?  A few tidbits on some news sites?  Do they really need that?

Maybe I'm overanalyzing, but I have to think there is something more to this.

Your thoughts.

Ali

Reading their press release however, it seems a little too positive to be a "Prank" or just a dig at GNR.

Like Mayweather/Show, it's a work!

Just when you don't expect him, in the most unlikely circumstances, our Axl turns up.

And he sure does have quite a way to say something when he wants to..

Axl I really do hope that free can of Dr Pepper comes to pass for you..

Apparently I was wrong. Weird stuff.

It's be sweet to have a new GNR song on a Dr. Pepper commercial, I think it'd be a good form of advertisement on-top of all the other stuff out thats bound to be out there. Oh and that GNR Dr. Pepper can is photoshopped, and horribly done I might add, but it does provide a cool template.

Jarmo can you comment on Dr. Pepper launching a campaign rumor?

While wrong, it was well reasoned and thought out.

Weird indeed; extraordinarily so.

(http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/6397/chinesese6.jpg)

1 - "A change that's bittersweet that's called the blues"
2 - "There was a time"
3 - "Better"
4 - "Madagascar"
5 - "Catcher in the Rye"

THANKS, skyzo.

because the PR company in charge get paid gazillions every year to come up with innovative and interesting ways of further marketing the product.

and considering the person in charge in the PR company is an Axl Rose obsessive (to put it mildly), it kind of makes perfect sense. His debate/discussion style is fairly convincing, if you ever had the opportunity of getting into one of those with him, so i would guess that he didn't have too hard of a time selling this idea to his client....the beverage company...

that's how they went for it.
if you can sell ice to eskimos or sand to the arabs....which is what i believe kaneda can do....it shouldn't be too much of a mission to sell chinese democracy to Dr. Pepper...

it will create new interest, and bring the brand (together with the album) to "top of mind" status with the general public...and that's the final objective every time you do a promo.

"Not to be an asshole"

but has anyone noticed Axls response is signed "Axl Rose", not "W. Axl Rose" the way he ALWAYS signs?    http://www.gunsnroses.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080326&content_id=a1&vkey=news&fext=.jsp

and there is NO mention of this on Dr. Peppers webesite.   www.drpepper.com

I'm not trying to be negative, just stuff I noticed.  Sorry if it's been mentioned already.

Peace

The weird thing about GNR today...you can go months without any news whatsoever, and then when you finally get some, its guaranteed to not be what you expected.

I was just thinking about Dr Pepper's recent advertising slogans. 'So misunderstood', and 'What's the worst that could happen'. You can finish off that thought for me.

They've always had funny commercials....if Axl doesn't take advantage of this kind of promotion hes stupid.   PUT OUT THE ALBUM AXL...THE WORLD STILL REMEMBERS CHINESE DEMOCRACY!  Even though we thought 2002-2007 would be great times to release it NOW is as good a time as any!!

This is the best news EVER!!!!  HELL YEAH!! :peace: :peace: :peace: :peace: :peace: :peace: :peace: :peace: :peace:

Very cool. Buckethead's parts are on the album! Yay! :beer:


It's on www.gunsnroses.com (http://www.gunsnroses.com)

Yes I realize that, but when was the last time he didn't sign his name as W. Axl Rose?

I know I'm reading too much into this, maybe it was written by a PR person, and was an oversight. 
And, you'd think DR. Pepper would mention this HUGE challenge on the Promo section of their website.
 Like I say, it was just something odd I noticed.

You guys read way too much into some of this.  :hihi:

Don't wanna be an asshole, but...

Could it all be an April Fools thing?
Or something FAKE?

Hope not, cuz' Axl will look like a complete idiot.

check it out. credits for skyzo from perfectcrimegnr.
http://img149.imageshack.us/my.php?image=chinesese6.jpg

doesn't it look like a fan made picture?
The blues lyrics seems to be wrong (change instead of taste)... or is that the official one?

I know Jarmo checked the validity of this, but I don't doubt anything in the GNR world. Even fans and the band itself being caught in a huge prank.

In a few days we'll know... maybe.

From all The people who have called dr pepper most of them got told it was one sided which basically means that gnr is/was not involved, axl's statement pretty much confirms that and in my opininion it should stay that way...

I mean gnr & dr pepper?? yeah that's really something you want to be associated with as a rock band :-\...

But on the other hand if it'll help get the record out this year then I say go for it :beer:

Isn't there a saying that goes "any publicity is good publicity"? And this isn't bad publicity, it's just weird publicity I guess. But hey, it doesn't cost a thing, so why shouldn't Axl take advantage of it and thank them for their support. (He must be laughing his a$$ off right now.  ;D )

I'm just glad that we got to hear from Axl.  :beer: Thank you Dr Pepper (or whoever is responsible for this)!  ;D

Yup, I was jazzed to hear that.

It's legit, I'd say.  The news is coming from too many reliable sources.  Plus, I'm sure the reason so many posts about this were deleted yesterday was to confirm its legitimacy, and - more importantly - wait to hear from Axl & co. first:

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/page/news/49539-ichinese-democracyi-in-2008-free-dr-pepper-for-all

http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003741826

http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2008/03/26/news-ticker-guns-n-roses-warped-tour-richie-sambora-fall-out-boy/

Hope the bb dates on the latest batch of dr peppers are good. :rofl:

Two things: Axl indirectly implies it'll be out this year by assuming he'll have a drink to share and BUCKETHEAD IS ON THE FUCKING ALBUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!

In another thread I posted, nothing is moving in the GN'R camp....maybe I was wrong and there is finally some light at the end of tunnel??

C'mon fucking GN'R!!! I think this is great news whatsoever! At least, it is 'some' news  :peace:

Wow, as if I even needed another reason to love Dr. Pepper!

I was wondering if anyone would finally notice this "little" detail...

No.

Dr. Pepper is owned and operated by Cadbury/Schwepps.

There was a time, not long ago, that Pepsi and Coke (depending on region) distributed and bottled the product for C/S.  But C/S has taken over much of the bottling and distribution, now, as those contracts have lapsed. I THINK there are still some Coke contracts in effect, and I THINK all the Pepsi contracts have lapsed.

I couldn't believe no one else caught that either! I'm not a big BH fan, but I guess that puts ALOT of speculation to rest about whether or not he'll be on the album!

Here is the headline on yahoo:

Dr. Pepper issues challenge to ex-members of Guns N' Roses

ex-members? They never get things right when it comes to GNR!

A press release went out via most of the major news services (I can't remember exactly which service it started on...presswire?).  It started appearing in articles on various sites, but some of the more......press related.....gnr admins found it pretty much right after it hit the wire.

Fan made, as admitted to in another thread, on another board.

Actually, Cadbury/Schwepps has used viral marketing and music in relation to their products (7-up, for example) in the past.

This isn't so outside the box as you would think.  It's pretty fucking creative, though, and props to whoever came up with it.

I explained, in talking about this "elsewhere" why it won't cost C/S much, at all...especially in light of the exposure/marketing:

With manufacturing and bottling costs (depending on the bottling plant....most use high fructose corn syrup...a few use sugar, which would up the cost), 36 oz of soda (or about 3 cans) costs about .10 to .15 to manufacture. Add the cost of the bottle, and the labor to bottle it. I'd say you're talking somewhere around .05 to .08 a can to bottle and manufacture...something close to that.

IF you were to run this type of campaign, you'd need to do one of two things:

1) Partner with a distribution site (since they don't have one like Taco Bell does) to hand out physical product. I think that's unlikely, all things considered.

2) Dole out coupons via mail. One per person, or per household....something like that. That would require setting up a registration site on the net, and probably a mail drop to collect postcards with names and addresses. Nestle has done that type of thing (with their Carmel Crunch bars, most recently), before.

I think #2 is the far more likely scenario.

In either event, you're not going to get 100% participation in the program. Some won't know about it. Some don't like Dr. Pepper. Some won't go through the process of registering. Some will go through everything to register, and then not use the coupon. What you eventually have is a much smaller sample size, probably around 10 to 20%, max....and probably quite a bit less than that.

So, at the top end of all of that, you have about 60,000,000 x .08 = $4,800,000. Not, considering the size of the company, a huge amount of money. And that's "worst case" scenario, IMHO. You may actually be looking at more like 500k, depending on the % of responses you get.

1) The Dr. P "people" are saying this leaked early....which might be why the site's not up yet.

2) The press release IS up on a site owned by Cadbury/Schwepps (http://www.brandspeoplelove.com/).   Unless there's been some hardcore hacking of their site......the Press Release is legit.

this is fucking awesome!!  :D

I love this! this is great publicity! I was hoping for something like this!

 And Axl always a card! Love yeah!

Now lets see the record company get their shit together!

I can see Axls statement regarding the release of Chinese Democracy:

"People will drink Dr.Pepper this year"  :hihi:

Well, since Mysteron says there's no progress at the moment, that means the ball is likely out of Axl's court at the moment. I'm sure he 'intends' to have the album out this year, but then again I'm also sure he intended to have it out in 2006.

I hope this is true but by nature I am a cynic.  Is this just a way for both GNR and DP to create hype for their products and DP knows that CD will not be out this year and thus not have to give away so much product? 

Maybe this has been said, maybe I'm reading too much into it  :hihi:

but....Axl said  "I'll share my Dr Pepper with him"  referring to buckethead.....and considering that most of what Axl says in the press is calculated one way or another.....Axl getting a Dr. Pepper from the promotion  to share would logically mean that the album is slated for an '08 release!!!!!!!!   :beer:


'course most of us one way or another were hoping or speculating that way.....but this seems to point to it and is pretty awesome nonetheless!!!

....ok....i'm done for the moment.....too much speculation too early in the morning....I just think this is pretty funny and cool of Dr. Pepper and to hear from Axl for the first time in so long is pretty sweet as well!  :smoking:

~J

What a great photo on gunsnroses.com and a wonderfully clever and pithy riposte from Axl.  With diplomacy, ambiguity, modesty and, best of all, a wry sense of humour, he illustrates not only his sharp business mind but also provides a masterclass in how to respond positively to the unexpected press release.  : ok:

So if Axl releases it in 2008 dr pepper will hook every single American up , axl replys he will share his with BH...wich means the album will be out in 2008 . NICE

This is on the front page of Norway's second largest newspaper site. Axl's reply is awesome  :peace:

When Axl says "I'll share my DP with Bucket", guess he means two things:

1 - the obvious message = CD this year.
2 - Since BH is not eligible but Axl will share with him, Slash will remain the only american out of the free soda party.  :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

That's hilarious... something that could only happen to GNR.

OK, it's legit, but no one can deny the April Fools face of it.

 :peace:

hahaha thats crazy!!!! and really random.

But very cool at the same time!

Ali, I have been saying the same thing and the same thing that the person on the other site said.  I got blasted for it though.

Just thanks.... :D :D :D

Very exciting news and just one more reason to love Dr. Pepper, which by the way, is the best tasting soft drink in the world.  If anyone feels otherwise, please meet me in person so I can slap you with my white glove and challenge you to a duel.

At least we know that Axl is alive and he's paying attention to all the things on the net  :hihi:

I don't think anyone has pointed out yet that Axl also put to rest the rumors that the album title was changed ... "We are surprised and very happy to have the support of Dr. Pepper with our album Chinese Democracy..."  : ok:

Just because he said that he'd share is DP with Buckethead does NOT mean it's coming out this year.  Yeah, it is implied but he never said "it's coming out this year."  He could have said it as a knee-jerk reaction to them saying Buckethead won't get one.  I don't want to be an asshole, but you guys shouldn't get your hopes up by reading into things too much.  Personally, I think it's quite humorous and might help nudge Axl in the right direction.

The guy hasn't said anything at all publicly since last August.  I don't think he makes public statements on a knee-jerk reaction.  So of course everyone's going to over-analyze this small statement - given the infrequency of comments from Axl there's nothing small about it.

After 3 sips of Dr. Pepper I am so bloated and cannot drink anymore.  It has a good taste, but too filling.

i wrote an email to the dr pepper company:

dear mr. kooluris,

certainly you didn't anticipate with such a huge reaction because of this announcement...

i'm asking myself if the GNR camp was informed by your company about this marketing gag. is this the first step to a big promotion for the upcoming album chinese democracy ?

sincerely,

XXXXXX



answer:

Hey XXXX?the gunners camp wasn?t in the loop initially, so you can imagine how excited we are to have Axl?s support?we are fully confident that Chinese Democracy will be out in 2008?we can?t wait!

C K

lol how many people from here do you think are drinking Dr. Pepper today for the first time (or at least the first time in years)????

awesome reply. humble and witty.

love the last line "And as some of Buckethead's performances are on our album I'll share my Dr. Pepper with him."
:beer:
bh bring your own glass with you!

I think it's awesome that this company has put it's mouth where it's money is - what an awesome idea! I would do the same thing if I had the money. Thank god someone has stepped up to push this issue. Although Dr. Pepper gives me heartburn, I'd drink it just to celebrate the fact that the album has come out!

I say it will be 2008! Thank you Dr. Pepper. What other companies can we get to do this? Nike? ITunes? Ahhhh, just dreaming. But I love this!

there must be quite a few huge fans in the beverage giant. Or they wouldn't dare liken cd to their dearest product in the press release to make the news on the radio and at all the music sites and business sites.


I remember seeing a 80s axl pic with a can of 7 up in his hand. Anyone has it handy?

assuming that a can costs 20c in the US.....with 303,616,998 people living in the states....
that's a meager $60million dollars out of the bank....almost 5 times as much as what Geffen paid for CD...

i'm glad Axl called their bluff...he may be confident now, but Mr. PR Chris is going to start shitting pretty soon if Axl decides to deliver....

Yea, but i'm sure that if Axl were to get the album out this year, each copy would come with a free Dr. Pepper coupon redeemable after purchase of the album. 

And you got research showing that every one in the US definitely wants a free can?  :hihi:





/jarmo

it's in the rare pics thread

no, but if i was on the corporate board of Dr Pepper, that's the only thing i'd be interested in....

That'd be the worst case scenario for them, definitely not us, but I'm sure they have an idea of how many cans would be given out.

Realistically speaking.


/jarmo

yeah, they most definitely do...i just hope that it isn't a bluff...and they're hoping to get some free publicity counting on Axl not delivering....because if he decides to play along with them....someone could in real trouble...

Many big companies often execute give away sales champagnes.

I just went to poke around that site and found nothing in their press releases about this. Maybe the whole thing did leak a little early?

At this point, I'm just hoping this isn't some crazy April Fools joke that leaked early.

it's no april fool. it's legit.

Call it what you want, I still think it's Axl trying to be witty.  Nothing more, nothing less.  I've gotten my hopes up too many times to have them dashed again and again.  I'm still a GNR fan through and through, but I'm a lot more wary of anything that comes out now.  More than likely what will happen is the coupon with the CD or a way where you can go to drpepper.com (or whatever it is) and register to get a free coupon.  They wouldn't do something like this unless they knew they could take the hit of it actually happening.

Go back a page or two and you'll see why the numbers work out....I posted a pretty detailed explanation there.

First off....your costs are inflated by a factor of 3x to 4x.  A can costs somewhere between .05 and .08 cents to manufacture and bottle.

While the offer will be open to all, I'd bet that, at the max, you're talking about a 10 to 20% "adoption" rate.  Even that would be high in comparison to other "free" promotions (Nestle has done it with their Caramel Crunch Bars, Mike and Ike recently did it, Dale and Thomas did it with gourment popcorn) adoption rates.

So, max...the company is risking about 4.8 million.  Not a huge amount.  And I'd bet the wheelhouse is more like 500k, because I'd bet the "adoption" rate is MUCH lower than 20%. 

Really, it's not going to cost them nearly 60 million. 

Chinese Democracy starts now or soon ;)

http://www.brandspeoplelove.com/csab/Home/tabid/36/Default.aspx

Click Newsroom.  Then Click News Releases.

Voila.

It is a straight up plug and chug formula. I'm sure the math people at Schwepps have graph of the function that shows exactly where their profits maximize.

Perhaps, there is a business major on the board that has had calculus recently that can explain it better than I ever could.

i didn't read your previous post...will go check it out now...

Another thing to note is that the amount of business and attention they'll receive because of this will surely help recoup, if not completely offset any losses.  Overall a very smart marketing idea.  I remember Taco Bell was going to have free tacos to everyone if a satellite hit a giant target in the middle of the ocean (it didn't, but still good press).

Dr. Pepper can afford to give everyone in America a can of soda.

It's a multi-million dollar brand, giving out a free can of soda isn't going to hurt them in the least.

Taco bell DID offer a free taco to everyone in America last year, though.

It was a promo during the word series.  If a base was stolen (and at least one base has been stolen in EVERY World Series...so odds were good they were going to "lose" the wager), Taco bell would announce a Tuesday afternoon when ANYONE could come in and get a free taco.

A base was stolen by the Red Sox Jacoby Ellsbury.  And on tuesday, the 30th of Oct 2007....a free taco was had by anyone who went to a taco bell between 2 PM and 5 PM.

I'd argue that promo was PROBABLY seen by a lot more people than will see this one.  Granted, you had to show at a taco bell on a specific date between specific times....and Cadbury/Schwepps will probably do something more like coupons....so the restrictions will probably be SLIGHTLY looser.  But stil...Taco Bell seems to have done just fine.

I know, that's what I was saying, they can handle it.

plus they have a brilliant distribution network...they could probably deliver a can of soda to every one in the states faster than universal could send the cd across the continent....these beverage companies have such good distribution networks which can't even be rivaled by the US army...they could get a can of coke to Iraq faster than Bush could send an F16 fighter plane....

In light of the response to Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans....I'm not sure that's really saying all that much.

 ;D

I LOVE IT TOO!!!!!

I feel exactly the same way! Should I bring a Dr Pepper to the Buckethead show in Chicago in May? :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer:

Hypothetically, if Dr. Pepper were concerned about a loss of profit over this promotion, they too could impose a limited timeframe of 2 PM to 5 PM for when people could claim their free soda.

Plus
 if it was an april fool, it would be the Soft drink company that makes an ass of themselves losing credibility.
Cadbury Schweppes is an established beverage giant.
they dared liken cd to their dear Dr pepper in their press release which made the news on the radio and at all the music sites and business sites.

They can't do this for a joke. Not any more.

go axl !
i thought it wouldn't happen ,him responding.very kool !

I would think they'd do SOMETHING restrictive about registering for your coupon (which is how I think they'll accomplish things if CD gets released this year).  I'm just not sure they'd restrict it to 3 hours....probably more like a specific day or two.

It doesn't say anything about how people will get that free can.....


It could mean anything.

For example, print out a coupon from an e-mail, mail in your name and address to get coupon in the mail, buy something to get a can for free etc etc.




/jarmo

Does anyone else find the mental image of Axl and Buckethead sharing a can of Dr. Pepper hilarious? 

I find it sweet

They're probably thinking of ways where people can't abuse the promotion and claim multiple sodas.

Maybe claiming your soda will be on a first come - first serve basis where Dr. Pepper will alocate so many millions of cans for this promotion, and once they're gone, the promotion is adjourned.

They're probably thinking it's a very cheap way to get some promotion in for their brand. They calculate that most likely, CD wont be out anyway.

yeah?

I also think it's sweet! Rememember the old song be an original drink DR PEPPER! I never drink soda. but Dr Pepper was the one that I Liked! :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer:

This is great news!

I'm a pepper, they're a pepper, he's a pepper, she's a pepper....wouldn't you like to be a pepper too.

Be a Pepper.

Drink Dr. Pepper.

Dr. Pepper

:)

Right on brother! Now people know how OLD we are!

The question is...?Is Chinese Democracy coming out this year?

That's a very important detail  :P

axl /gnr is obviously eager for it to be so. Lets root for him! don't fall behind dr pepper in this.

Not to nitpick (I'm TOTALLY going to nitpick, now!), but we should probably think less in terms of production costs and more in terms of the cost at which it's sold from the manufacturer to either an independent distributor (if there is one) or the retail sector.  In other words, if a 20oz Dr Pepper sells for $1, and the place that sells it bought it for $0.35, then I think that would be the costs of this "promotion" per person who gets one.  Of course, some people who wouldn't otherwise get a Dr. Pepper might get one, so those aren't profits they're actually losing, so for those consumers the cost is probably closer to the actual manufacturing cost.

So I think this would be the formula for their costs:

(Selling price from manufacturer)X(# people who participate who would have drunk a DP anyway) + (manufacturing cost)X(# people who participate who would not have drunk a DP anyway)

If your 60 million people, 0.08 manufacturing cost, and my 0.35 selling price are correct, then this would be:

Assuming 2/3 participants would drink a Dr. Pepper anyway
(0.35)X(40 million) + (0.08)X(20 million) = 15.6 million

BUT...I have my doubts that 60 MILLION people would participate.

There in lies a problem. What if the promotion is a free can of Dr Pepper, 'When you sign up to purchase a six pack' Or a free can of Dr Pepper, 'when you purchase another schweppes product'

I would think that would have been Dr peppers idea at the beginning. But now the GNR camp is involved they are probably rethinking. I doubt GNR would promote the album with purchasing additional products for Schweppes. Axl and teh GNR camp need to go back to them and say, "You said a fee can for everyone and that should mean exactly what it says, no catch, completely free' 
Just a guesstimate

First up, in most of the country, C/S is there own distributor (and bottler).

Second, You're projecting lost revenue, which doesn't really come into play for promotional costs, which this would be.  Most companies I know of would actually look at production/distribution costs, because the other stuff isn't really a factor.

They're not going to care about lost revenue, really.  Only what it costs them to run the promotion.  Thus looking at costs.

At the POS level, they're simply returning revenue to the "owner" of the store that bought the can from C/S, in the first place. They're refunding them THIER money....not paying them out of their own pockets. The only "loss" there is the piece that covers costs....because the rest was profit anyway. You're certainly NOT reimbursing the price the consumer would have paid.

See?

Oh, and I agree....the 20% adoption rate (which gets you the 60 mill) was "worst case" and based largely on the "McDonalds '84" debacle with the US olympics.  It has been, to my knowledge, the single worst promotion, for a company, ever.

Edit: Not that I think you need me to..but here's a gross simplification.

I make a widget for .25.

You buy it for $1.

I tell you that there is someone out there with a coupon for a free widget, and if he sees your widget...he can exchange your widget for his coupon.  I'll either give you your $1, or a free widget to replace the one you gave away, if that happens.

When you come back with the coupon, I give you your $1 (because that's what you want).

I didn't lose a $1.  I lost .25....what it cost to make the widget.  I just don't get to hold on to "your" dollar anymore.

This is the best news EVER. I love Dr. Pepper. So even if the album gets out, I'll get a free Dr. Pepper! If it doesn't get released, then I'll just buy my Dr. Pepper. Either way, I'll be drinking a Dr. Pepper!

Yeah, I know that the lost revenue costs aren't REALLY factored in...but they do exist.

They can minimize costs if they do a "print your own coupon" thing.  OR, if they're REALLY smart, they'll lower the costs of a case by 1/24 or a six pack by 1/6, thus giving you a "free" Dr. Pepper when you buy the five or 23 others.

You know...like when a bag of chips says "20% more FREE!," knowing that you have to buy the whole damned bag anyway to get your free 20%.

They exist...but you're talking about opportunity cost and ROI, now...and I'm not sure this is the place for an economics "class". :)

Suffice to say, the most tangible costs, and the ones given the most consideration, are the "real" costs of manufacture, bottling, and distribution.

The costs of printing and distributing the coupons...given you know they'll go out 3rd class mail, as a bulk mailing...are also pretty negligible.

I tend to think they'll play the "straight and narrow" on this....most companies who've run this type of promo (like Nestle, etc) have and it certainly hasn't broken their banks.  I'm assuming they figure that the "sampling" of their product should increase revenue enough amongst consumers to completely offset the opportunity costs and ROI considerations on the lost revenue for the promotion.  But that's the gamble with ANY promotion like this.

That seems like a joke, but anyway, any news is better than no news, good to see that Axl is still alive!

I love this discussion, I was just about to chime in about opportunity cost versus what it would actually cost to produce the tangible item being given away for free, but now I guess I won't.  Thanks for beating me to the punch pilferk, economics discussions give me a massive headache!  Suffice it to say that those of you thinking the cost of this promotion would be prohibitive are over analyzing the situation and over estimating both the amount of people who would participate and the actual costs of the product that would be given away.  These types of promotions happen all the time, and on a larger scale than this seems likely to grow to, even assuming that the album is actually released and that this promotion becomes a fairly widespread giveaway.

This has GOT to me an April Fools day joke!

So what if it is?  Too much fun for you to handle?  :confused:

We still got word directly from Axl and a new pic of him on the official site.  : ok:

Yeah, I'm sure they're hoping that for every so many free bottles, someone will actually buy one.  If a free bottle costs them 0.08 and they can sell a bottle to the gas station for 0.35, then one bottle bought because of the promotion will pay for four bottles given away. 

I buy Diet Dr. Pepper fairly regularly, and it's considerably cheaper than other brands.  For example, a 12 pack of Coke costs about $3.75, while the DP costs $2.50.

I've also noticed lately that, contrary to the premise that buying in bulk is cheaper, two 12 packs of pop are often cheaper than a case of the same thing.  Strange.

Today is March 27th. The day (or night) the press release hit the internet, it was the 25th. And I highly, highly doubt such a creditable company would put their reputation on the line like that: can you imagine the backlash if this was an April Fool's joke? Not only would they lose profit, who would take them seriously again? It's too risky to be an April Fool's joke, and I don't see Axl even bothering to respond to it if it was. I noticed he waited until CS had told dozens of people (myself included) that it was indeed real before making a statement.

the important thing here is Axl's comment about it and the two informations he gave to us.

1) the LP will be out in 2008.
2) buckethead is on the album.

...Axl hopes.


This is pretty cool.

"Tired of a world in which Americans idolize wannabe singers ........... Dr Pepper is encouraging (ok, begging) Axl Rose........"

That's really cool

Edit: BTW hi

It's on Guns N Roses Myspace as well.

Mike

I've been following this whole story since yesterday and I have to admit that at first the idea of Chinese Democracy being associated with Dr. Pepper seemed kind of lame, but at this point anything that helps the album get released SOON is fine by me. 

Oh and I guess people can't claim that Buckethead leaving caused huge delays in the recording of the album since he's still on it. 

hey guys,

i dont know if this has been mentioned yet buuuuut,

im pretty sure this is part of a planned campaign because on my bottle of dr. pepper this morning i noticed that their current give away ad campaign expires on 03/31/08.

thats pretty damn close to just be a coincidence.

also id like to point out that every year guns news dies out around december and picks up again in march. though we havent had any news since last summer, this still basically follows that cycle we are used to .

i waiting for mcdonalds to offer a free big mac to go along with my dr pepper and hostess to offer a free twinkie for dessert
 :hihi: :hihi:

I think that you're jumping to conclusions with your first point.  I'm sure that Axl is doing everything possible to get the album out this year but I hope that no-one is taking what he said as being a cast-iron guarantee that it will be out this year.  I'd hate to see a repeat of what happened when some people failed to appreciate what was meant by 'tentative' in an earlier press release.

And regarding what another poster mentioned about the comment being signed 'Axl Rose', instead of prefixing it with 'W.', again I wouldn't read anything into that because if you look at gunsnroses.com, you'll see other news articles signed off with just 'Axl Rose'.

I thought we weren't meant to mention this?

Boohoo.

The post said "until further notice". Which meant until it was checked out to be legit.


Funny how a few make a big deal out of it. They don't seem to comprehend basic English since it's explained pretty clearly (if I say so myself) in the FIRST post.....


Better luck next time.



/jarmo

Christ, the way some of you guys are discussing the logistics and economics of Dr Pepper giving everyone a free drink, you'd think the album actually had a release date.

Just the parts that the other guys couldn't figure out how to play :hihi:

But to be serious, I'm happy that some of Bucket's playing is on the album, would have preferred alot but if one of the three R's came up with something Better, I don't mind.

I really hope that the wheels are still in motion


(And yes, the first comment really is a joke)

i like how BH rates high enough in dr peppers eyes to mention, but not duff. thats gotta really sting.

haha.

I thought that part was cool, too.

And hi! 8)

Jarmo has been waiting weeks to use the old boohoo line :hihi:

I have a friend who works at Uni (as alot of you know) and hit her up about this today. She says that no one at the label has anything to do with this whatsoever. Just FYI.

If that's correct, then the band or record company had no prior knowledge of this.





/jarmo

That's what I'm thinking. I mean that info along with what Axl himself posted saying they were unaware pretty much confirms that.

But that doesn't rule out any partnership they could do in the future. :)

i think we were all hoping that the label or band had something to do with it because that would lead one to believe that the ball is really in motion for an 08' release. but again, we all have no idea what the timing is (oh, yeah, i know it will be "soon"). just a question, can someone post band related news here without it having to be "approved" by the people who run this site? it seems that the person who got the scoop first on this news had to be deleted and then approved.

yeah, i dont entirely buy that at the moment. too many things lline up (like what i said before). if i see some new soda lables next month with some sort of gnr graphic then ill know for sure.

also, on the topic of everyone denying knowledge, everyone has to deny knowledge or it ruins the gimmick of the dr. pepper campaign.

someone mentioned, that this dr pepper campaign leaked too early? maybe it was indeed planned as a fools day joke initially? :hihi:

i mean if dr pepper and the gnr camp/record company didn`t talk about this before, there`s no way dr pepper would have any insider information about a possible release. as a result of that, this campaign really came out of the blue and dr pepper didn?t give it a big chance of realisation as they probably know the history behind chinese democracy...        it doesn`t matter though. it`s too late for dr pepper to back down, which leads me to believe this is really serious. they probably expected the media reaction : ok:

First... Buckethead confirmed on the album 100%... that is the best part of Axl's statement, although I think it will be just a few solo's. Hopefully Bucket can play some concerts and maybe even return, because I think he is the one who pulled GnR musically to the special level and Axl definitely doesn't seem to have a problem with him anymore :peace:

Second, I have noticed on this and other GnR forums that the anti-Axl and anti-present GnR crowd try to sarcastically bash this amazing opportunity for free publicity.... a band can't ask for a better PR campaign than this. If this goes ahead, it will be everywhere. It just shows the anti crowd consisting of r3t4rds   : ok:

Third, I still think Pepper tastes like @ss but if we get the cd CD :beer:

Can we please stop rehashing this?

I'm just hoping that Axl and the record company realize that this is the time to get shit going (assuming of course everything is ready for the album to be released).  They shouldn't worry about what time of year is "best" to release albums and all of that jazz, just release the thing as quickly as possible! I mean you have this unexpected (and free) Dr. Pepper promotion that seems to have built quite a bit of interest, The name Chinese Democracy which would fit in with all of the talks about the Olympics, Tibet, etc...If promotion is the main worry of the powers that be concerning the album's release, I don't see how it gets better than now!  Plus you could make a lot of fans happy, which I would hope is one of their concerns.

I think most people don't believe Bucket will ever be in GN'R again.Anyway any mention of GN'R is a good thing if you ask me :smoking:

Here's the thing I don't get:

If Axl and the band had no knowledge of this and were not o.k. with it, i.e. saw no benefit to them in this, wouldn't they be able to sue Dr. Pepper for using their name and/or likeness in a promotion (and that's what this is in reality) without consent?

Something to consider.

Ali

Look Smashing pumpkins are suiing pepsie cause they usde there name and It would get bad publicity... but I guess Axl on the other hand thinks the timing couldn't be better fom him and they are going to use it to promote Chidem... they could get a lot of money from it...

That was exactly my point when I mentioned seeing a benefit to this.  It's only beneficial to them if the record is coming out because it serves as promotion.  Otherwise, it is useless to them.

Ali

I've heard this argument and thought about it myself, but the more I think about it, it doesn't make much sense.  If the album was indeed ready to be released, I can't imagine having to "wait" for a perfect time to release it.  When it's done, it's done, and it should be released at that point.  I can't see how waiting can help anyone at this point.  You're right in a sense, timing does seem to be perfect this time around with the free promotion.   But I seriously doubt THAT'S what the band was waiting for, and now all of a sudden they'll unleash the beast.

There are five things that have evidenced themselves to push this record out:

1. GNR Greatest Hits Record, which has gone 4x platinum
2. The positive 2nd round reception of a new, reinvigorated GNR in their performances on demos and concerts since 2006.
3. Izzy's comeback with the band, proving that at least he considers Axl to have some right to the band name.
4. Sebastchian's return to the fold with Axl and his reporting of the record confirming that he likes it as a rock album, not as Axl's friend alone.
3. This endorsement by DR. Pepper.

The latest from Dr. Pepper, I never drink the stuff, but for a corporation to promise unsolocited promotions for a rock group in this day and age is entirely unheard of. There is a market for the new album that needs to be tapped now. The record is done and there's no more reason not to start pressuring the appropriate parties to put it out.

I hope to G-D that Axl's not the one holding it up and that the record company sees the value potential for themselves. Otherwise, if 2008 isn't the year, then I doubt it will ever be released, or released with this amount of anticipation.

MNW

I've always been a Mr. Pibb man, but I'll knock down anything to get CD this year  :beer:

Good point about the anticipation being up high now.  I was beginning to think people outside the GNR community had forgotten or given up on the album.  Now they've at the very least been reminded, as this story has hit most major outlets.

I visit a site daily for funny media clips and such.  They picked up on the story.  Here's there headline.

Dr. Pepper will give a free soda to everyone in America except Slash & Buckethead if Axl releases Chinese Democracy in '08. Axl's response here. Public's response, "We waited ten years for this shit? WOO HOO, Free Dr. Pepper!"

http://www.gorillamask.net

Ask yourself this, was the gnr brand damaged by this?....the answer is no, meaning they've got nothing to base a lawsuit on.

And as far as using logos and other trademarks, all of what connected it to gnr has already been taken down and replaced by something else as far as I know.

Well you make it seem like I think they've been sitting around waiting for Dr. Pepper to do this.  I don't mean that at all, I have no F'ing clue what the hang up is on the release. I'm just saying now seems like a really good time to release it.  Most people are obviously fed up with the waiting,etc and some people just have forgotten about GNR through the years.  That being the case, I think it's stupid to not release the album ASAP, assuming it's finished and ready for release...

Yeah I didn't mean to insinuate YOU thought they were waiting for something like this to happen to release the album.  It seems to be perfect timing right now, but if it's not released it's because it's not ready for some reason or another.  It shouldn't be viewed as if they missed a perfect opportunity.  I don't think this Dr. Pepper thing, if they indeed didn't know anything about it, will push them any harder to get the album out.  That's all I'm saying.

There seems to be some kind of misconception that the band doesn't want the album out because it's not ready or something.

Going by what people like Baz has said in interviews, this is totally wrong.




/jarmo

THE NEWS IS ALL OVER SCANDINAVIA ALREADY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Use this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity Axl/Geffen/Big Honey etc etc.....!

Mr. Pibb doesn't have the proper credentials to bring Chinese democracy to a modern generation. leave this to the doctors

It doesn't matter whether or not the GN'R brand was damaged.  The issue is you cannot use someone's name or likeness in a promotional/marketing/advertising campaign without their consent.  You just can't profit off someone's name or likeness without having their o.k. and/or cutting them in on it.  You just can't do it.

Ali

like Dr. Phill? He should make a promise not to sell any more of his books untill CD was out... now that would be great!  :hihi:

Yeah, but you can always decide what to do. If the good outweighs the bad, why take the other route?





/jarmo

Has a major soft drink ever promoted a rock band like this before?

Big deal, you know how much money they make? And they'll make even more after this, due to publicity. 60 mil won't dent their wallet.

Not to mention the fact that if they're clever about it they'd make you pay p+p for the darn thing... Imagine the number of claims then!

True.  GN'R can decide not to sue if they see some benefit to them in this promotion.  But, still they CAN sue.  My point was that GN'R has the option for legal action regardless of whether or not the GN'R brand name is damaged.  Whether or not they exercise that option is another story and up to them.

But then here's another question:  What benefit would there be to this for GN'R unless they were going to release the record?

Ali

Anyone been here yet?:


http://chinesedemocracywhen.blogspot.com/

Sent an e-mail to Dr. Pepper asking about it when I first heard wind a couple days ago and just got this back...

Ofcourse they can sue but to win you need to prove damages and there are none...


They would first have to prove that Cadbury/Schwepps actually profited by using the gnr name which would be an incredibly hard thing to do...

Actually, I have.  I also noticed that if you look closely at the picture of the Great Wall of China, you'll see a few song titles etc.

TWAT, Better, Madagascar, and a line from The Blues.

Surely, Chinese Democracy is here.  I doubt it though. 

It's free, guarenteed promotion for both the band and album, regardless of whether it's released or not.

Yes, but keep in mind that lawsuits bring bad publicity and are at the very least a hassle for the company involved.  They have to spend money on lawyers and other legal fees.  Smashing Pumpkins sued their own label because their name was used in a Pepsi promotion.  Metallica filed a lawsuit against someone for calling a particular nail polish "Metallica".  The point is that a company like this would not open themselves to this sort of nuisance unless they were stupid and careless.  They would cover their asses.

You cannot use someone's name or likeness in any promotion without their consent.  Profit or not.  You cannot do it.

The issue of profiting off or damaging the GN'R name aren't relevant.  You can't use the name, period.

Ali

But what is that promotion worth unless the record is released? 

It's like teasing someone about something, arousing their curiosity and interest and then there's no payoff.  It might be interesting for a few days, but it ultimately has no tangible benefit or impact.

Ali

Well.... they are. And it would seem GNR are ok with it. And I can tell you for a fact that Universal had no prior knowledge of this.

i think they're mocking Gn'r. Never has a soft drink or any any other company made fun of a band so bad.

what they're saying is: We're so sure Axl won't deliever, we're actually betting to give away our product for free to the whole country"

sad thing is, they might actually be right, but we'll see in 2009

If Axl had objected, I'm sure he would have sent a cease and decist letter to Dr. Pepper and that would have been that.

There doesn't appear to be any malicious intent in this promotion, so Dr. Pepper probably anticipated Axl would approve of the idea.

great catch! i also see CITR on the wall...pretty cool...

Yes, they are and GN'R seems o.k. with it given Axl's statement.  For GN'R to be o.k. with it, there must have been a decision that there is some meaningful benefit to them.  And the label not having prior knowledge of something does not mean they, or the band, are going to look a gift horse in the mouth and not use this to their benefit now.

Ali

Again, intent, malicious or otherwise, is irrelevant.  You can't use someone's name or likeness in any promotion without their consent and be protected from legal action.  You are opening a door to getting sued anytime you do that regardless of circumstances or intentions.

The lack of a cease and desist letter only shows that Axl sees some benefit to this.  He could sue them if he wants to and there is nothing Dr. Pepper can do about that unless they've reached some sort of arrangement.

Ali

Increased public awareness, curiousity, and interest.


I disagree.

I think that regardless of whether or not the album is released this year, this kind of promotion only further increases the record buying public's interest in Chinese Democracy, and the general mystique surrounding the album.

Even if the album doesn't come out until next year, people's interest would be naturally re-invigorated, and they'd say:

"Hey! That's the album that made Dr. Pepper give out free sodas for all of America!

No, I'm sorry, but there has to be a tie-in a payoff for any promotional campaign to have a purpose and a benefit.  You don't spend money on TV spots, viral websites and posters for movies that aren't going to come out when you expect them to come out.  That would be a complete and utter waste of money. 

Furthermore, I think you are grossly overestimating the memory and interest level of the general public, not us on the forums, for this album.  If this year comes and goes, this promotion will have been pointless from the band's side.

Also, for Dr. Pepper to have to give out free sodas, the record has to come out this year.  Then there is a benefit, a huge one.  It will be all over the news if that happens, just like this announcement was.

If the album does not come out this year, whatever reinvigorated interest the public has will subside and this promotion will be forgotten quickly because there will be no ultimate benefit or impact.

Ali

Release the album Axl..."Dr.'s orders." 

(it had to be said.)   :hihi:

Yeah, but would a lawsuit really have gone anywhere?

Axl would have essentially had to prove that Dr. Pepper made money off his name and the Gn'R name since this promotion was unveiled a few days ago, which would have been next to impossible.

Perhaps Dr. Pepper came to the conclusion that the probability of Axl suing over this was pretty miniscule, so they went boldly went ahead with it.


Doesn't Axl's response to this promotion lead you to believe some sort of arrangement has probably been met?

He's essentially given his approval, so I don't see how he could now all of the sudden turn around and cry foul.

CD This year?

How many Tuesdays are left in '08 again?

The issue is not whether or not Dr. Pepper actually made money off Axl's and GN'R's name.  The issue is that by using their names in a promotional campaign without their consent they are ATTEMPTING to make a profit.  They just don't have the right to do that without consent, to even attempt to make a profit.

It is possible that Dr. Pepper thought the possibility of a lawsuit was minuscule.  But, this is not some fly by night company.  This is a well established company with a long track record of successful promotions and advertising campaigns. 

I don't think that there is necessarily some arrangement in place, but I do think Axl decided there was some benefit to this for GN'R and that's why he publicly gave his seal of approval.

Ali

I'm yet to hear of Dr. Pepper planning on spending large sums of money on this promotion.

If they do, that's entirely their choice.

New customers will be obtained once people hear about the Gn'R connection, so I fail to see how either party truly stands to lose anything, regardless of if the album is released this year.


Once again, I disagree.

It's another chapter in the story surrounding Chinese Democracy, and only serves to continue to increase public awareness and interest in the band and album.


They still benefit regardless of whether the album is released or not.

As we sit here discussing this, they're probably already benefiting, and the album hasn't been released yet.

So no, I don't think the album has to come out for this to be a benefit to Gn'R or Dr. Pepper.

Yeah, there are only so many possible explanations.

If Axl had no prior knowledge of this promotion, then Dr. Pepper must have thrown caution to the wind, and decided they'd drop this promotion if they were to recieve a cease and decist letter.

Stranger things have happened.

Countries have been invaded on the presumption that they had Weapons of Mass Destruction ;)

Ali, I agree with pretty much everything you say.

I DO think this an inside job.. All parties know what is going on.  We are not fucking idiots.  If you choose to beleive that people do these promotions without telling the people they are promoting they are going to promote them you are delusional.

I admit, the movie analogy was a bad one, but you can't argue with the fact that even if Dr. Pepper does have to spend the money giving away the free soda, there will be a huge publicity benefit to them.  Just huge.  They will most certainly profit from this promotion in that case.

And again, I'm sorry, but I think you are truly overestimating the public and their interest in this record.  We here on the forums do not represent the general music buying public and their interest in this record in any way, shape or form.  That is an unfortunate truth.  A few days of renewed interest or curiosity may occur, but it will not be sustained unless there is a payoff, a point to this promotion.

Ali

Thanks dude.  I don't know if it was an inside job necessarily, if I believe that, but there is some mutual benefit happening here or else there wouldn't have been an endorsement from Axl publicly. 

Ali

I think you are a fucking idiot if you keep saying GN'R was part of it.


If you do a promotion saying "we'll give you a free soda if the Rangers win the Stanley Cup" doesn't mean you're just promoting the New York Rangers.



/jarmo

All this quasi lawyer talk the last 3 pages was a bore, cheers for the participants : ok:

No, but they would have to get permission from the NHL do to that. 

I bet DP came up with the whole idea, I get that, but somebody had to run it by the GNR camp or record label.  If not, they are lucky bastards and idiots at the same time.

Jarmo, do you think that Axl found out about this via the internet, or a Rep from DP called and said, hey, we have this idea, what do you think about it?  If they didn't ask him, not only would that be rude, but ballsy if he didn't actually like the promo.  If they didn't ask, they are lucky and stupid.  I don't think the executives are stupid or lucky.  They are where they are by hard work. 

As he says, it came out of the blue for the band.

They didn't know about it until it popped up online and the rest of us found out.




/jarmo

Jarmo, that is freaking crazy!!!!!!!    I am glad he liked it.  This story matches the following....

Received this reply from Chris Kooluris today when I made an inquiry as to whether or not this was true :

It?s 100% true and we?re really excited Axl Rose is happy with our support?We?re all really big Guns fans over here and can?t wait to hear Chinese Democracy?we?re hoping this is the year!  Best,


CK

I know next to nothing about trademark law, but I'm thinking that in order to bring a successful action, one has to prove damages.

Or Exploitation for their financial gain.  Gibson is suing Guitar Hero and they had a fucking agreement. 

They are suing for patent violation, ie., financial loss.

There is absolutely no benefit for Dr Pepper (yet). And I don't think they are sueable until they start officially using GN'R's name in their advertizing campaigns. That press release alone is not an advertisement. Maybe they hope it will help the GN'R promotional campaign and GN'R will then be willing to participate in something mutual.

40.

I predict between August and October so that this promotion and CD promotion can take place!

Let's hope!

Last year a furniture store chain in Massachusetts (Jordan's Furniture) offered a full refund on sofas, dining tables, beds, or mattresses bought between March 7 and April 16 if the Red Sox won the world series.  Well the Sox won, and Jordan's gave away A LOT of free furniture.  Not sure how relatable that story is to this situation, but these kinds of things do happen.  They're doing it again THIS year, BUT only if the Sox sweep the World Series.  That's the only way they could get an insurance company to back them.

Here's a snippet from the article

Jon Hickey, senior vice president of sports and entertainment marketing at Mullen, a Wenham advertising agency, said the Jordan's promotion was a brilliant use of a team sponsorship. He said Jordan's would have won financially if the Sox had failed to win the World Series, but now it will win a huge public relations bonanza with the victory. He estimated the retailer could have paid several million dollars for the insurance coverage - a small price for the publicity.

And the whole article

http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2007/10/30/jordans_knows_cost_of_victory_full_well/

Wouldn't Dr. Pepper be able to write off a good portion of the free sodas as a "business expense"?

If they could do that, Dr. Pepper's possible financial loss would be pretty much non-existent.

i sent an thank you to the one guy that was mentioned on the bottom of the myspace bulliten for the dp G'n'R thing and this is what i got back. I thought it was pretty cool of him:

Ethan> Subject: RE: DO NOT DELETE!!! PLZ READ!!!!!> Date: Thu, 27 Mar 2008 22:09:29 -0400> From: Chris.Kooluris@ketchum.com> To: ethanbradford09@hotmail.com> >

Ethan

You're awesome man. I would never delete a message from a true guns fan or any gnr fan for that matter. We did this because we love gnr. Personally I can't even imagine growing up without guns in my life and as I get older and the world beckons me to sellout and hang up my youthful adoration for guns it only strengthens my determination to keep the brand alive. I too believe this is the year ethan and if the awesome demos are any indication of the final record, gnr will take over again...stay in touch bro

Chris

Sent from my GoodLink synchronized handheld (www.good.com)

> > -----Original Message-----> From: Ethan Bradford [mailto:ethanbradford09@hotmail.com]> Sent: Thursday, March 27, 2008 08:29 PM Eastern Standard Time> To: Kooluris, Chris> Subject: DO NOT DELETE!!! PLZ READ!!!!!

 dear sir

as a G'n'r Fan that has stayed loyal all these years i feel obligated to thank you and your company for doing this. Personally i don't like Dr. Pepper (actually i think it tastes like shit (unless mixed with Captin)) But thanks to you and your company i really think that this will be the year for CHINESE DEMOCRACY.

Thank you again, the G'n'R online community is in debt to Dr pepper thank you again and Gods speed

 sincerely

CHINESE DEMOCRACY eventually (HTGTH)

(aka) Ethan

 \m/

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He also said that i could post his Email address if anyone else wanted to send Dr. Pepper a thank you or to say some kind words :)

Chris.Kooluris@ketchum.com


:peace: :headbanger:

Wow.... Dr. "Downloading Motherfucking" Pepper

Coke backed GnR in the australian leg of the 93 tour.

At first, I thought this was just a joke, but obviously it's ligit.    Evidently, from Axl's response, it doesn't seem to be a mutual promotional gimmick (which I thought it might be, at first, too).    I think it's kind of an awesome concept on Dr Pepper's part. 

I can't believe that there are people crying "foul" over this.

If McDonald's were to give away free Big Macs if the war ended anytime during the Bush administration, there would be nothing the federal government could do.

It's kind of like a couple of guys hanging around a bar.  One of them says to the other, "If you get that hot babes phone number, I'll buy you a beer."  If the guy gets rejected, he can't sue for a beer.

I'm more of a Ginger Beer fan, a cherry coke once in a while, but its great to see that GNR fans are not alone in there support of the band.

If I can show my support by buying a couple of cans of Dr. Pepper, then so be it...just tell me where I can input the serial numbers on the can. Maybe there could be some kind of fan movement behind Dr. Peppers offer.

And as for Buckethead, I'm really pleased that we will get to hear some of his work on the album  : ok:

Jarmo, Fernando - do you know who at Dr. Pepper is the big GN'R fan who kicked this off? Its a great story and I'd love to know more about how the challenge originated at Pepsi.

While I think is a great concept....I'm not going to run out and buy Dr Pepper, over this! 

Haha! Finaly somthing interesting happening!

Dr Pepper! LoL!

I have a feeling that this will cost them some big money!

Right.

So lets all come to a GnR message board to discuss politics.......

Oh, wait....I forgot...we DO do that.

If you don't find the conversation to your liking.....maybe skip the topic.

It was the first bit (though I find the management story, actually, much MORE interesting...it broke LATER yesterday) of actual "news" we've had in quite some time.  And you gotta admit: It's pretty cool.

Yes, but its the GNR element and the fact that someone finally got Axl to break his silence thats cool (to me at least) not the plausability of whether or not I'll get a free 80 cent can of soda, y'know what I'm saying?

Again, then skip that piece of the conversation.

Because there are enough aspects of this that you're going to have LOTS of different views, opinions, and pieces that are going to get discussed.  Just like there are LOTS of other different topics on the boards, both in the GnR section and outside of it, that GnR fans find interesting and want to discuss.  That's sorta the point of having a message board.

I'm just not sure why you expect everyone else in the thread to tailor the conversations to what YOU might find to be the "interesting parts"?

I'd also offer up that discussing the "plausibility of getting a free can of soda" is pretty relevant....because many people were doubting that the promotion was REAL based on their perception that it would be too costly to run....and, as happens often on message boards, the tangent went from there.

Y'Know what I'm saying?

i just think its great to have gnr in the public domain again, and thanks to this soft drinks giant, they are now being mentioned everywhere....that is such great news for us, the fans, who hold the GNR flag, and have to defend the band every time some doofus decides to share his opinion on how the band is no more and whatnot....

its fucking brilliant, and i am happy for it...

here's hoping more good things start to happen in the coming weeks.... :beer:

I made one comment to the effect that people were getting a little ahead of themselves, since there's no confirmation that the album will be out this year. Damn, relax! You'd think I'd made some huge slur on the whole GNR community. How about you skip my piece of this and future conversations?

Absolutely.  In this day and age with crappy bands like Good Charlotte, Fall Out Boy, Panic at the Disco, and such ruling the airwaves, I was beginning to think there wasn't a place in the world of rock and roll for GNR anymore.  At least in the sense that they weren't really relevant.  This puts them back in the public eye, at least for the time being.  And even if it doesn't happen (though I pray it does) I think it's been proven that they still are, or at least can be, extremely relevant.

No....you questioned why people were talking about the logistics and economics of the promotion....in light of the fact we have no album date.

I was one of the principal participants in those discussions.  So obviously you were addressing me, at least partially.

And my suggestion stands: If you don't like part of the conversation....skip it. Don't bitch about it.  I'm not saying it to be snide, or mean spirited.  I'm giving you a hint for how best to avoid things you find irrelevant or boring.  Because there's LOTS of that stuff littered on the boards.

Oh, and I'm very relaxed.  

I agree.  The name recognition bump, alone, is sorta nice....and you can't knock any kind of "free" positive publicity like this.

What effect it will ultimatley have on album or ticket sales for GnR is questionable...mostly because we just don't know what's in the cards between now and December 31st.  But it's a good start, all the same.

Gypsy's theory on how things went down:

Dr. Pepper was planning on releasing this "free soda challenge" as an April Fool's joke to get some publicity for themselves because they are aware of how fanatical GNR fans are.  Unfortunately for them, at least one of us GNR fanatics works for them and (by their own admission) leaked the "challenge" early (before April 1st).

Someone in the GNR camp seized the opportunity for free publicity for GNR and made the decision to hold Dr. Pepper's feet to the fire and call their bluff with the threat of a lawsuit for using the GNR name without permission.

FREE PUBLICITY FOR GNR!!!  *FREE SODA FOR AMERICA!!!  : ok:


*I think the way the "free soda" deal is gonna work is that you'll need to present a receipt at a designated store chain (like a 7-eleven) to prove you purchased Chinese Democracy to actually get your free soda.  I kinda doubt that most peoples are gonna bother to do that so the financial cost to Dr. Pepper on this deal will be minimal.

I forgot exactly what it was, but like the after the superbowl, taco bell had a promotion where everyone in the country got a free taco or something like that.....you didn't have to have anything with you, but you coud only get it on that one day and between a specific time, so I'm betting it will work something like that.....oh well, not that a really care I guess, If I want a Dr Pepper that bad I'll just go buy one, lol.

I doubt that. GNR name has been used thousands of times without permission by the media, in films, books and so on.

I'd rather see good intention in people.

Hilarious  :rofl: I haven't stopped laughing

No, she's right.  You can't use someone's name in a promotion without their consent.  That doesn't necessarily mean you will be sued, but you are opening the door to the possibility to being sued.

Ali

Exactly, Guns N' Roses is a registered trademark. Anyone who thinks that you can just slap it on any promotion that takes your fancy is way off.

then they can.
are you agreeing that GNR made a threat against dr pepper for the supposed 'april fool joke' or you didn't read her post?

Yet there's a bunch of shitty unofficial books, DVDs, CDs, t-shirts and things out there.


What part of:

We are surprised and very happy to have the support of Dr. Pepper with our album Chinese Democracy as for us this came totally out of the blue. If there is any involvement with this promotion by our record company or others we are unaware of such at this time. And as some of Buckethead's performances are on our album I'll share my Dr. Pepper with him.

Axl Rose


is unclear?

The whole thing was made by Dr Pepper on their own.



/jarmo

In a Press Release promotion, anyone's name can be used. Through press releases, the "Media Machine" does all the promoting and it ends up being FREE advertising for Dr. Pepper AND Guns N' Roses.

Until you actually see paid-for ads by Dr. Pepper with the Guns N' Roses name in print, web ads, on tv or on radio, it's all legal.

No, I'm not agreeing they made such a threat.  I did read her post.  The point was they CAN threaten a lawsuit because of unauthorized use of a name or likeness in a promotion, if it indeed becomes a full out promotional campaign.  Not that they did or will file a lawsuit.  They being GN'R.

GN'R obviously decided not to even go down that road and be appreciative of the support.  Good for them in taking the high road on that issue.  Kudos.

Ali

then you didn't read my post and the words I quoted.
and no like jarmo and edo said, they can't be sued just for mentioning the name.

It could no more be an april fool joke when it made the news.
and the unexpected warm response from axl sealed it.

Bingo.

This entire 5 page discussion about who can get sued and what not is just useless. Took away the excitement out of this thread too  :peace:

Some people are just too cool aren't they? :hihi:

oy fuckin vey!!!  Do you know what the word "theory" means??  It means it's what I think MAYBE could have POSSIBLY have happened.


GYPSY DISCLAIMER:  I HAVE NO PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE OF ANYONE IN THE GNR CAMP ISSUING ANY THREATS TO ANYONE IN THE ENTIRE WORLD, ON ANY MATTER WHATSOEVER, INCLUDING ANYONE IN THE DR. PEPPER ORGANIZATION.

 ::)

and I'm saying don't buy your theory.

And you didn't read my last post where I said if it becomes a full-out promotion, beyond the initial press release.  That is inevitable if this comes to fruition.  There will be promotional materials used in print, online and on-air applications and there will be permission and consent absolutely needed at that point. 

Lucky for Dr. Pepper, they already have Axl and GN'R's support of this.  It could work out to help all parties involved in the end, so every can win with this.

Ali

If you're talking to me, I never suggested otherwise.

I'm pointing out that if Dr Pepper followed through with this and used GNR's name in advertisements, they would need the band's permission to do so.

whatever. I responded to your reply to my post.

No, Dr Pepper wouldn't need GNR's permission as they aren't "Profiting" from GNR

If they are giving something away, then its not using GNR's name illegally.

Its like how Tabloids can do all that shit on celebrities and not get sued.

If they were using GNR likeness on their product they could get sued.

So those who think GNR are involved because Axl didnt sue them or send a letter are wrong.

This was a PR masterstroke from Dr. Pepper, no doubt. Good for GNR, too!

Axl said the timing with the Angel Down album couldent be better! But i guess he didnt see this coming..
Since they have got the deal with a managment-team now, the future news and updates could be very interesting  : ok:

I've been on a different GNR email discussion list since about 1996 (some of whom are members here and may remember this) and this whole press release thing eliciting a response from Axl reminds me of stunt we were considering years ago.  I remember we were discussing putting a fund together to buy a full-page ad in a major newspaper to show demand for the "next" GNR album (I don't even know if the name Chinese Democracy had been public at that time) .  Anyhow it eventually fell apart because we didn't know who was going to collect the money and we ultimately decided that it wouldn't have worked.  However, these press releases make me think we might have gotten some sort of acknowledgement from Axl had we actually done it.   :smoking:

Let me pose a question regarding whether GN'R was involved in the promo.  Lets say they were.  To do this promo it would then either be the start of GN'R promising to release CD this year or a tease which the fans wouldn't take kindly too.  Instead, they get to deny involvement yet generate interest without promising anything.  Its all tied together in my opinion and despite Axl's comment, anything contrary belief is also an opinion.  Allow the fans to speculate in this matter because the hard stance that it is not possible that GN'R is involved is ignorant. 

It must really suck when people assume you're a liar.  Call it ignorance, whatever else, the guy said he had no idea, so I think he had no idea.

Just been thinking about this from different angles.  I'm not calling out Axl as a liar per se.  Its all about hype and sometimes it is necessary to lie a little.  I wouldn't hold it against Axl if he is lieing, as a matter of fact I would completely understand and agree with it.  Got to read between the lines a bit.

Correct, it is plausible that it could be denied for many reasons. There are too many variables and to hit anything with a hard-line attitude is usually a bad idea anyway. You can't ever believe everything anyone says no matter who they are especially when it comes to business.

Yes, I'll probably get all kinds of flack from those that blindly follow Axl as if he's God but what I am saying is simply true. Nobody, no matter what their contacts to the band, can know for sure. These people have just been told something. It's probably the truth, you could put a percentage on it but it does not negate the possibility that something else is true.

For instance, I could tell you: 'I was with Hillary Clinton in Fallujah once and we were under heavy sniper fire but I didn't have time to care because I was too pissed about there being no greeting ceremony upon our arrival' doesn't make it true....gooood grief  :P

Axl also said he is "looking forward" to working with the new management team. OMGOMG That means they haven't even started working together yet, so how could they have been involved with the Dr. P "promo"? Hahaha....

This may have been mentioned before... Long John Silver's ran some promo where everyone on Earth was entitled to a free jumbo shrimp if NASA found evidence that an ocean once existed on Mars. I don't think they got permission from the President of Mars or from the Shrimp King, but they went and printed posters anyway....

I don't think anyone has taken away the possibility that they acted on their own or your opinion that they did. Why would they need permission? The sentence you quoted could be taken several ways and doesn't negate the possibility of some behind the scene deal having gone down. The new management team would not have to have been the ones to set this up, plenty was done before they were around. For those that have the opinion that it's something that was planned there is plenty of logic behind that argument as well if even the fact that GNR is so void of regular news and this is all happening at the same time as new management and the record being handed in previously etc... I don't see a valid argument to stop anyone from believing either way.

i had nothing much to say ;) i basicallyl lost interest while i was typing... i think most of this debate is pointless.

Personally, I think Dr. P acted alone and used a somewhat common strategy of choosing an easy bet. Somewhere in Dr. P HQ, enough people probably said "while we're at it, who wouldn't like another GNR album this year?" Sure, if enough people here on this board were quick enough to worry about a legal reaction, then it seems likely that Dr. P's legal department may have at least tried to get approval from someone on the GNR side.

Dr. P acted alone? Cool, nice work, Dr. Pepper.
Dr. P worked with GNR on this? Cool, nice work Dr. Pepper... AND GNR..

No way Dr. Pepper acted alone. 

Did you check the grassy knoll?  Some bystanders said they saw Diet Dr. Pepper lurking there.  Second shooter, I say.

You know what?  If I was in charge of Dr. Pepper, I'd damn well do something just like this if there was *any* chance it would help get the long-awaited (understatement) album released by my absolute favorite band of all-time.  Sure, it's a stunt, and the publicity would be a bonus, but still.  A cool (and refreshing) gesture, in my opinion.

I just can't imagine anyone in the GnR camp saying, "Dammit.  After thirteen years of struggling with this material and this album, it's time to take drastic measures.  Somebody get the Dr. Pepper people on the phone now!"

when it rains its going to poor

and this with the new management team ,Will hopefully bring chinese democracy to the world this year...

I think when we finally see axls baby, its giong to be huge, and its going to make its mark on this world, in a very epic way...

No but perhaps Dr. Pepper got GN'R on the phone to get the go ahead or GN'R has a ton of promotional ideas planned and this was just the first.

New York Post >> Page Six
http://www.nypost.com/seven/03292008/gossip/pagesix/willing_to_share_103982.htm

(http://www.nypost.com/seven/03292008/photos/p6d.jpg)

WILLING TO SHARE

March 29, 2008 -- AXL Rose was startled to read on Page Six this week that Dr Pepper had offered a free can of soda to every man, woman and child in the US if only he would release his long-awaited "Chinese Democracy" album before the end of the year. "We are surprised and very happy to have the support of Dr Pepper . . . This came totally out of the blue," Axl said in a handwritten statement. But the Guns N' Roses frontman doesn't agree with the exclusion from the soda pop offer of Slash and Buckethead - two guitarists who have feuded with him. "As some of Buckethead's performances are on our album, I'll share my Dr Pepper with him."

willing to share  :beer:
ta for sharing.



are you sure the bystanders weren't  Pepsi max and coke zero? If so, sgt pepper said not to listen to them.


isn't it amazing?
theoretical some won't ever take axl's words on trust unless he says 'fuck off'.
Is that because in their world no human can ever be sincere?

Not only dr pepper but also Fernando says that
GNR had nothing to do with the DP idea. That was DP all on their own.

They had no reason to make things unnecessarily complicated and troublesome as some people do.

From TMZ

TMZ spoke to media reps for Dr Pepper -- they confirmed the authenticity of the offer 100%. : ok:

Thankz Me friend FM.

Excelent News.

 :beer:

HBK *

When CD is released they will probaly have a voucher in the cd that you can take to the store and get a DR PEPPER.

the dp press release said everybody would get a DP, not everyone who bought a allbum

Yahoo Music Blog...
http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/thatsreallyweek/13623/march-24-31-democracy-at-work

Speaking of unreleased albums, Guns N' Roses' decade-in-the-making Chinese Democracy isn't out yet. That, of course, is hardly news. But this week's GNR news story, while seemingly a hoax of Diddy-ish proportions, is in fact true: The manufacturers of Dr Pepper soda have offered to give every single American citizen a free soft drink if the long-delayed GNR album comes out any time in 2008. This just may be the best instance of soda/pop synergy since "I'd Like To Buy The World A Coke," or at least since Suicidal Tendencies begged for "just a Pepsi" in the punk classic "Institutionalized."

But fans of either Guns N' Roses and Dr Pepper shouldn't break out their stereos and/or straws just yet...because, it should be noted, Axl Rose and his many interchangeable hired Guns have been working on various versions of Chinese Democracy since 1994. So if you're really thirsty for a free Pepper, it's probably best to hit the unlimited-refill drink counter at your local fast-food joint instead. And if you're hungering for some GNR, just satisfy your appetite with, well, Appetite For Destruction.

Oh, come on, Axl...wouldn't you like to be a Pepper too? Get that album out already!

I can't believe how easy it seems to be for these website to come up with cheesy joke after cheesy joke.

what else would you expect for a bunch of incompetent arseholes to spend their time doin  :yes:

That's one theory.

But then people would probably complain about having to buy something in order to get their free can.

The press release didn't specify that.



/jarmo

Not necessarily. Having a coupon in the cd booklet can be one of several ways that people can get a coupon for a free dr. pepper. Thing is, people wouldnt complain much anyway because the average non-gnr fan wouldnt even pay much attention to a free dr.pepper in relationship to the release of the album.

Yes, people would complain about that and rightfully so.  The press release stated everyone in America, not everyone who buys the album.  That would be a horrible idea to backtrack like that and it would greatly lessen the impact of this promotion.

Ali

Maybe have a thing thats on a can of Dr Pepper say on the bottom of the inside (so you'll have to drink it first) say something like "winner: free copy of CHINESE DEMOCRACY" or "winner: $1 off your purchase of CHINESE DEMOCRACY" or "loser" or something along those lines.


:peace:

I mean Guns N Roses is a big name and if everybody would get something free maybe they might be curious to buy the album.  Oh gee I get a free Dr Pepper if this album comes out !! "I might see what the whole fuss is about and purchase it" seeing that this album is long overdue and there's this mystic I think some non fans and casual GNR fans might just buy it.

Obviously Dr Pepper has to send out a new press release reminding people of the free soda offer when the album is out. I mean, people forget fast.


That'll promote the album a bit. 

The best part about that is that GN'R, or the record company, doesn't have to do anything....  :D




/jarmo

I just bought a 2 liter of Dr Pepper and listening to Guns N Roses right now  : ok:

My take on it is ... when CD is released, you'll be able to get a free Dr. Pepper regardless of whether you bough CD or not. 

It also wouldn't be a good way to promote. Who cares that they get a 50 cent can of soda for free with buying a CD? Wouldn't make a splash in the news, nor would it be any incentive to buy it. However, giving everyone a free can whether they buy CD or not, that's great promotion.

Such a huge, blanket, nation-wide promotion will be ALL over the news in the U.S.  Nothing like this has ever happened before, should it happen.

It would be huge, free promotion.  This is a golden opportunity.  I hope everything lines up so they can take advantage of it.

Ali

I bought a 12-pack of Dr. Pepper today. I forgot how delicious it was.  :peace:

Oh I don't know about not having to do anything.  I think they are kind of obligated to repay the favor.  Obligated may not be the right word but I think they will show their graditute.

I am waiting for Pepsi to make an offer... Free Pepsi or Mountain Dew... something like that... Imagine if multiple companies made that offer just to create a media wave for themselves while promoting CD. ..

Just the fact that Axl talked about Dr. Pepper and it was posted on every major music website (and it will be on most if not all music magazines next month or week) should be enough for them...

For some reason this story actaully gives me some hope. : ok:

Join hands and celebrate chinese democracy! :D
you hate coke? ???


everybody in the camp will most likely thank dr pepper for a free can like anyone in the us will.   :beer:

As it was pointed out, they already did.


Not only did Axl's comment make the story bigger news, but he also thanks Dr Pepper for their support in the press release.





/jarmo

I'm not sure why everyone here is so worried about Dr. Pepper's index returns.  They made the bet...it's their loss if it pans out.  And I guarantee you, they've already got a plan if it does happen.  They'll probably have a "Dr. Pepper" Day after the album is out.  Download a free coupon from their website (and I'm sure you'll have to fill out information for their research) and then take that coupon to a market for one free can.  How many people are going to drive to the market to get one free can of DP?  You'll spend more in gas than the soda's worth.

I wonder whats in store for us all on Tuesday.... im curious to see just how far Dr Pepper push and market this!

Jonx

and you don't leave a market only with a can.
It will be a come on for the stores that deal dr pepper to increase the sales of the day.

Personally I don't care how much Dr. Pepper or the markets will sell.

It was free GOOD publicity for GN'R and we need all the good publicity we can get for the band.

Everytime you read something about GN'R in the press, there's always an ironic bit about how CD has been delayed... Well, DUH, like we don't know about it, or Axl doesn't want it released.

I couldn't care less about those before dr pepper made the press release that was all positive about axl and gnr save the wrong remark on bh. To which axl returned a bow nicely.

I'm not getting a free can either but
Just the thought of Chinese democracy making a positive effect on the American economy makes me smile.  ;D

LOL, there you go.

They should market CD as the GnR "Stimulus Package" for the economy.



What is supposed to happen tuesday?

I just read this in the Bismarck Tribune... :hihi:

I think that "Chinese Democracy"could really do a lot of good right now. After all, the government is giving its economic stimulus checks to us in the hopes that we'll go out and spend that money, and spur the economy. So here's something we can all spend $14 of that stimulus on. What else were you going to spend that money on? A jet ski? A pet penguin? A tank of gas?Get real; you can't afford any of those things.

In fact, the combination of money flowing through the retail sector and the sugar high we all get from our Dr. Peppers might be just the thing to shake off recession.

Then new REM album comes out .

That's ace.  :hihi:

Tuesday is April Fools Day.  I think that's what was being referenced.

Oh yea, guess it is huh?

 :hihi:

I sincerely doubt GNR would have the nerve to pull an April Fools joke on their fans. I could be wrong but I sincerely doubt it.

It's ridiculous, of course they aren't.

Nothing is suppose so happen tuesday.. nothing that anyone here is aware on anyway.
People only get a bit excited after last weeks updates.. hehe.. not saying that is a bad thing
Lets just hope things go on smooth from now on

I find it rather funny that MTV.com news section hasn't even reported on the Dr Pepper story or the management story.  I guess they would rather report on fake out boy's cancelled trip to antartica.

MTV hasn't been worth a shit since about 1989-1990.

I'm glad that they're keeping their mouth shut after all that shit they talked during the 2006 tour.

of course MTV is not the core of GNR fans anymore but it still is a huge media. MTV can still (almost) make or break an album IMO. Regardless of the shit they show.

Monday ? March 31,  2008   6:48:18 PM
With all the talk right now regarding the Dr. Pepper challenge, we at GnrDaily decided to reach out to the corporate folks at the company and see exactly what they have in mind. Greg Artkop the Director of Corporate Communications for Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages, the parent company of Dr. Pepper, was kind enough to take a few minutes with me to answer some questions.

Big Pat: There is a tremendous buzz right now with regards to the Dr. Pepper
challenge. What brought this on?

Greg Artkop: Dr Pepper believes the world needs more GNR. We wanted to do our part
to get Chinese Democracy out of the studio and into our iPods.

Big Pat: On the GN?R official web site, Axl responded to the challenge, quite
quickly in fact! To fans that was a surprise. Did you read his response?
If so could you comment on it?

Greg Artkop: We were extremely pleased that Axl responded so quickly -- and favorably
-- to our offer. I guess we'll have to expand to include a Dr Pepper
for Buckethead. That was an interesting and unexpected bonus!

Big Pat: How far is Dr. Pepper willing to go with this challenge? Is there a
possibility of commercials? Or concert sponsorships? Or would you go as
far as an album tie in?

Greg Artkop: If Dr Pepper is approached to support the release we'll definitely
consider it.

Big Pat: Has your company gone as far as developing a plan to carry out the
distribution of their product should the album actually be released this
year? If so and you can share what is it?

Greg Artkop: If the album is released in 2008, everyone will have the opportunity to
download a coupon for a free Dr Pepper from our website.

Big Pat: Has anyone from your company had contact with Guns N? Roses
management or with Axl himself regarding the challenge?

Greg Artkop: We heard from GNR management regarding the challenge. They were
surprised about the offer but supportive of our efforts as you can tell
from Axl's response.

Big Pat: I?m sure our readers want to know, are you a Guns N? Roses fan? If
so do you have a favorite song?

Greg Artkop: Big GNR fan. Not enough room to list all my faves but my favorite GNR
song is still "Welcome to the Jungle." And thanks to Guitar Hero III,
I've learned that you haven't lived until you've played it on a plastic
guitar. Adrenaline kicks in every time I hear it!

Big Pat: Have you visited our web site GnrDaily.com? If so, what do you think of it?

Greg: Yes, it rocks!

Big Pat: Thanks for your time Greg, I really appreciate it.

Greg Artkop: My pleasure.

source: gnrdaily.com

 :beer:

HBK *

Very cool!  I really hope Axl and Co. take advantage of this.  I think this is another big opportunity for the band.  I hope that this is taken full advantage of. 

Interesting read.  Thanks for posting.  They, Dr. Pepper I mean, are dead serious about this.  Looks like the door is open to corporate sponsorship for a tour or something else, should there be an interest.

Ali

Thanks for posting this HBK. : ok:

It is going to be interesting to see how this plays out.

Kudos to HBK + GNRdaily. Thanks for that!

Great interview, thanks.

I think this mixed with new mgmt is very cool

It's finally going to happen people.

All these frustrating years of waiting are soon to be over


All I can say is "Bring it on Axl"

I bet ya' ten bucks that this is true

Axl says he knows nothing about Dr. Pepper....do you believe him?  I mean if it was part of promotion I think both sides would confirm that something was going to happen.....

Go back some pages and you will see this was discussed by wannabe lawyers in length and detail... we all dropped dead out of boredom in the process  :peace:

That's not exactly what he said was it?


He said he didn't know about the promotion and the band wasn't involved.

Which has been confirmed by the PR people as a fact.



I'm sure he knows about Dr Pepper though. Even I do and I'm not even living in the US.  :hihi:





/jarmo

Why is it so hard to believe that Dr. Pepper did this all on their own, Axl heard about it (just like everyone else) and thought, "Cool, I like that" and replied publicly about it? Is it that difficult to believe that Axl is just a normal guy with a sense of humor? It's been proven time and time again that Axl isn't the Hollywood "I'm better then you" type, he just has his beliefs and fights for them.

And, knowing the way most people on this board and most GNR fans feel, why is it impossible that Dr. Pepper is sincere in this and that it MUST be an elaborate plan with Axl and GNR mngmt in cahoots or an April Fools Joke?

Oh cool, Cahoot (a part of the Santandar Group who own the Abbey Bank) are on board too.  ;)

This Dr. Pepper thing makes me chuckle. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy, but the days of Marlboro and Jack Daniels sponsored tours for the most dangerous band in the world days would seem to be history. This all feels a little too corporate for my likeing, but if it leads to the release of CD, so be it. I just think that artists spend far too much time pimping shitty products these days instead of focusing on thier art. If I see another Kings of Leon car commercial, I'll puke. Easy for me to say I guess, bands struggle, but in my opinion Madonna doesn't need to be doing Vidal Sassoon commercials.

If GN'R has a Dr. Pepper sponsored tour, they should donate some of the proceeds to some Diabetese related charity.  :P

I'd be willing to bet that any person (this isn't directed at anyone in particular) who complains about corporate sponsorship also downloads music...... they gotta make the money back somewhere.

Yes.  His statement makes that pretty clear. :yes:

Marlboro and Jack Daniels are as corporate as Pepper.. the difference is that Pepper won't give you cancer or make you kill someone while driving under the influence of it....it still tastes like @ss though :peace:

All this posing stuff by rockbands, pretending to be die-hard alcoholics and drug addicts... it's just dumb, especially considering most rockers are the biggest pussies to begin with   : ok:

Touche!  ;D


Good point, however, I do believe GN'R were living as wild a lifestyle as most any band with very few exceptions. If you doubt Adler's use of drugs you may be the most optomistic person in history.

Edit: Alcohol does not "make" you kill people. Reminds me of my favorite quote:

Handguns don't kill people, people with handguns kill people.  :hihi:

I think grog mug wanted to say "do you not believe him?"

Yep and dr pepper wouldn't have left out bh and might well have begged the release from the label as well if it initially had been a part of cd promotion.

Obviously they were fans out of contact with the gnr camp and decided to go for bloke combining pleasure with business. they wouldn't have made a press release at their official site to make the financial news if they hadn't been dead serious.
And this time it was timely it appears.


More proof that Tommy's right in saying Axl's incredibly loyal and totally has your back if you're straight with him and are loyal back.

I'm confused...didn't Dr Pepper say they would GIVE away Dr Pepper's if CD came out?  So if Dr Pepper knows CD is coming out, why would that change the fact that they would still have to give Dr Peppers away?  Just because they know that CD is coming out doesn't mean that they WOULDNT have to give away Dr Peppers

Isn't that an April Fools joke?

What? The Dr Pepper promotion? Not that I'm aware of.

No, not the Dr Pepper thing as a whole, but the explict comments about "buy x cans of Dr Pepper and you'll get Chi Dem on CD".  The distribution of Chi Dem based on GNR Dr P credits.

EDIT:  Nevermind, I was referring to a different Dr P/GNR story. 

I hadn't even heard that but....if you did....I'd assume that Yes, it's an April Fools joke.

would you play a joke on the shareholders if you were a directer of a reputable company?


I guess this also reminds you axl's approval for the ad. :yes:

Just an interesting note, If any of  you have a facebook account every day there is a "gift" you can give a friend, and it is usually 1 dollar or free.  Today's gift is a free can of dr. pepper (its just a picture that goes next to the persons profile).... not sure if this is part of a grand april fools joke or not.

This was an april fools joke posted on anti music.  They since posted it was a joke.

http://www.antimusic.com/news/08/march/31What_Day_Is_It_Again.shtml

http://www.antimusic.com/news/08/april/01Guns_N_Soda_Record_Deal.shtml

(click where it says "more on this story" to read that it was posted as a joke)

Thanks, that was the one.

These are antimusic things. I just hope poor hbk won't see them. 

oh man this is too awesome. and a bit off topic but why on the article did they say excluding buckethead? i get the slash part but was there any particular reason for buckethead?

I guess because they assumed things....



/jarmo

not every fan is well informed. especially when they are not on this board but from the other boards :P

I guess this wasn't an April Fool's joke like some of you thought.....




/jarmo

I never thought it was. I even went so far as to email them. they sent a nice response back.
amyl

It isn't the Dr. Pepper thing that people thought was an April Fool's joke but AntiMusic posted yesterday saying there was a release date and that people who collected Dr. Pepper points or something could download it on the net.  That was an April Fool's joke that they recanted later.

Not so funny, IMO.

Not necessarily.  The Dr Pepper peoples admitted that their press released was leaked before it should have been so who's to say that it wasn't ORIGINALLY meant to be an April Fool's joke (by Dr Pepper) but when it got leaked and subsequently acknowledged by Axl, they couldn't back down.


I like Dr Pepper so I'll take the coupon from anyone who doesn't want theirs!!!  :yes:

All you need is a free pizza coupon too and you're all set!  :hihi:



/jarmo