Dr. Pepper - "I'm a Pepper" TV commercial(1977). David Naughton is the actor - he went on to star in the movie "An American Werewolf in London" (1981).
The life in front of the camera was not the same as behind the scenes. Many many things were only said or done in private and public life was much more about the appearance of how you looked to impress others with your normality then a comedy show with not ready for prime time players arrived on Saturday Nights and blew the lid off of all taboos by shing a light on the hidden life behind the scenes and we all followed them down hill into reality.
I totally remember this commercial back in the day and also loved his song "Makin It". I was very lucky to have the pleasure of meeting David Naughton in person yesterday at the Rockula Expo convention in San Antonio, Texas at the Wyndham Hotel downtown and he is such a sweetheart.
Ha! I remember "Makin' It!" It was one of the songs played over my grade school's PA system while we did morning callanetics. You can't get more 70s than that!
What Mr. Naughton was trying to tell us is that drinking Dr Pepper is a transcendent, paradigm-shattering experience, a gnostic "knowing" which allows one to achieve a unique state of awareness - simultaneously "alone in a crowd" and yet part of an "interesting breed". I can only thank Mr. Naughton and the "mad men" at Young & Rubicam for bringing this :30 slice of enlightenment to the thirsty masses some 33 years ago, I'm still a Pepper today as a result.
This series of commercials were the most popular ads on TV at the time, so popular that it led to a film contract for David Naughton. His first film, MIDNIGHT MADNESS co-starring Michael J. Fox, even had a Dr. Pepper inside joke in the film which easily was the biggest laugh.
Has it really been 42 years?! I want a time machine! And Ralph was cute as a button! Loved how he raised his Dr Pepper bottle right at the camera before the fade out!
I've been working on a time machine in my spare time. All I need is a faster than light subatomic particle that I can use to latch onto the past. Even thought we have over 200 known particles none of them can go faster than light speed. Without that the idea of time travel to the past is not gonna happen. The translational and rotational relative velocities make it exponentially harder, too. But if I do manage to make one I will go back to 1975. To watch Jaws on the big screen!
Great Vintage add from the original "DR PEPPER" Man David Naughton who also appeared in Hamlet in the New York Shakespeare Festival in those days aswell. He is best known for AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON and spent hours in the make up chair for that movie ( a very patient man). AMERICAN WEREWOLF proved that he could carry a Film practically by himself and he had good Leading Man attributes. He has made other Films and Done Loads of TV aswell. Its a pity he never attained a bigger level of stardom or made bigger Films other than AMERICAN WEREWOLF. His Co-star in that Film, Griffin Dunne went on to become a notable Film Director and Producer and he also still Acts aswell.
@@number6train then why the hell you wasted your confused time asking in the 1st place if you knew from the start who sang Makin It than ignorant confused clown?
I'm not sure if it was CRACKED magazine or CRAZY, but when they did their parody of AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON, there was a panel wher the werewolf and his victims are line dancing down the street singing "I'm a werewolf, he's a werewolf, she's a werewolf, wouldn't you like to be a werewolf, too?" Does anybody remember that?
I remember David Naugthon! Not only that he stared in the movie "American Werewolf in London", he also had a "one hit wonder" disco hit "Makin' It" on RSO records.
I liked the take SNL had on "I'm A Pepper", but I can't write it here. And sadly, you may not be able to find it anywhere. Waaaay too politically incorrect for today's standards.
I'm old enough to remember when this commercial first aired. And it convinced me to drink Dr. Pepper, too! It tasted SO much better with real sugar than it does now with high fructose corn syrup!
In the 1980 movie: "Midnight Madness", there's a scene where David Naughton's character takes a drink from a 16 oz. bottle of Dr. Pepper. I wonder how many people today would notice that reference?
Dr. Pepper is sickeningly sweet to me, sweeter than Coca Cola, which has tablespoons of sugar per serving. I've nothing against sugar, and I'll drink a Coke, Birch Beer, or Ginger Beer once in a while, but I grew out of liking Dr. Pepper by the time I hit high school. Those commercials were a response to a lag in sales, and worked quite well to convice people that Dr. Pepper was the newest hip drink, although it was first served in 1885, just 20 years after the Civil War ended.
If anyone of you has seen 500 Days of Summer, you will know the scene midway thru the movie where the young man's world turns into a Dr. Pepper commercial. It's great, with a Hall and Oates song to dance to.
Oh my God! I DO remember this one! In fact, I did it as a skit in 7th grade for a talent show! I came in 3rd place! And yes, I DO still drink Dr. Pepper!
When I was a kid the local DP bottler had a promotion under the caps. Some caps had T-shirt, some socks, some iron on patch and some had money. My Grandpa had a store and the customers would throw the bottlecaps away in the parking lots most of the time. Us kids got them and racked up the shirts, socks and money. We went to the local bottler in a neigboring city about once a week and loaded up. Good memories and great times. Still drink the Diet Dr. Pepper.
I miss jingles. No commercials are either instrumental, original pop songs or covers of pop songs. Barry Mannilow wrote this and many other jingles from the 70's.
I remember this commercial!! I love Dr. Pepper soda, thou I drink diet cherry Dr. Pepper. It's the only diet soda that doesn't have that funky after taste to it IMO.
I'll never forget an old "Wizard of Id" comic strip (about the same time as this ad) where a down and out straggler is slumped on the ground, mumbling nonsense outside the castle. The King says to the Knight, "Try to find out what the poor wretch is saying." The Knight goes out, leans in & hears what the man is whispering, but leaves him there. He returns to his King and repeats; "I'm a Pepper, you're a Pepper..." I actually cut that strip out & taped it in a childhood journal.
@GaxAngel If you are talking about that little round circle that appears on the film, that is called a "cue mark", I used to put them on film. I worked in a drive-in that had 2 projectors, a movie would be on about 6 reels of film. I put reel 1 on one projector, and reel 2 on the other projector. When reel 1 ran out I switched to reel 2, at first set of cue marks I started the head on projector 2, at the second set, I switched projectors, "changeover". Ususally there was on "hell".
Speaking of this commercial, I did not know until very recently that Julie Piekarski was actually in that commercial.( you see her early in this commercial). I get real smitten by Julie every time I see her in TV (whether commercials or TV shows). I had a huge crush on her, also, she is my favorite mouseketeer from the 1977 NEW MICKEY MOUSE CLUB!!!
