Axl Rose shocked the world last month when he finally released his “Chinese Democracy” album, but he shocked no one, it seems, more than the Dr Pepper Snapple Group.
The company promised in March to give everyone in America a free Dr Pepper if Rose released the album during the 2008 calendar year. At the time, the event probably seemed about as likely as someone capturing a live Montauk Monster – but the retail arrival of the album forced DPSG to own up to its promotional boast and, ultimately, receive a public lambasting from Axl Rose.
The company instituted its free Dr Pepper program by directing consumers to a web site where they could enter information to receive, by mail, a coupon for a 20 oz. Dr Pepper. The offer was initially open only during the day the album came out, but internet-enabled consumers surged to the site in excess of what DPSG was prepared for. The site choked. To compensate, DPSG extended the offer to the following day, but that did little to stem the tide of freebie-seekers who overwhelmed the site’s capacity.
Rose’s lawyers responded last week by sending a harshly-worded letter to DPSG criticizing their “appalling failure to make good on a promise,” and demanding a public apology. They suggested that apology come in the form of a full-page ad in The New York Times.
While this is probably an instance of Rose trying to milk more publicity for his album, it must sting to be called an “appalling failure” by a man who took 14 years to assemble 14 tracks.
