For the last decade, Dunkin’ had felt the squeeze between big-name competitors, like Starbucks and McDonalds. And while we had doubled down on product experimentation, that standalone strategy didn’t translate to sustained growth. While loyal brand fans existed – and loved us and our products – traffic was on an eight year decline.

Dunkin’ had to steal attention and sales to cut through – and, to do that, we needed to make a seismic impact in culture to ensure America Ran on Dunkin’.

So, we refocused our strategy with a game-changing collaboration that fit our brand narrative.

While Dunkin’ is a national brand, our soul is found where it all began: Boston.

The city of Boston has a character all its own, and it’s PROUD. It’s produced cultural touchstones like ‘Cheers’ and ‘The Departed’, and dominantes global sports, with teams like the Red Sox (MLB) and the Celtics (NBA). Even the accent itself is a beloved American icon in its own right.

Moreover, famous Bostonians are wildly proud of their heritage, proudly claiming Boston as part of their celebrity persona.

And the quintessential Bostonian? Ben Affleck.

Ben’s global stardom is rooted in his Boston upbringing since his breakout 1997 performance in ‘Good Will Hunting’. As one of America’s true A-listers, a two-time Oscar winner, a renowned performer and director and his marriage to fellow A-lister Jennifer Lopez, it’s clear that America loves Ben.

Another fun fact about Ben? He’s been photographed carrying Dunkin’ since the 1990s.

Known for his meme-inducing moments, a 2020 paparazzi photo captured the actor struggling to carry a large Dunkin’ order, prompting fans online to share widely, dubbing it a quintessential “Boston moment” and Ben a “relatable king.”

Even more striking, Ben and Dunkin’ shared the same Boston qualities: relatable, blunt, honest, enthusiastic, lighthearted – and even willing to enjoy a joke, even if it may be at its/his own expense.

Dunkin was on a marketing treadmill, where messaging consistently revolved around menu updates. As a result, traffic was declining, mostly going to Starbucks and McDonalds.

But Dunkin’ did own traffic in its birthplace of the Northeast, U.S. where brand love has always been sky high. In fact, 47% of adults in Boston order Dunkin’ at least once a month.

Yet regional success hadn’t translated nationally. We were too reliant on our core loyalists, 43% of Dunkin’s total sales came from the Northeast U.S., a region representing only 10% of the American population.

So the challenge was to extend that dominance. We knew we needed to raise our profile and drive awareness, positive sentiment, and, ultimately, sales.

Dunkin’ had to become ‘America’s sweetheart,’ with new consumers falling head over heels.

Which meant creating an undeniable cultural moment that would put Dunkin’ on everyone’s minds – and in their hearts.

We made Ben Affleck, already Dunkin’s biggest fan, the face of the brand.

In Hollywood style, we built a multifaceted creative narrative around him and his new job at Dunkin’, spanning a whole year: the Dunkin’ Cinematic Universe (DCU).

With Ben leading the narrative, we began building in early 2023, enlisting him to work at a real Dunkin’ drive thru. Leaked photos went viral, and we listened to the demand, opportunistically securing Dunkin’s first ever Super Bowl spot.

During “pumpkin spice” season, we promoted Ben to brand ambassador, teaming him with Gen Z rapper, Ice Spice, and customizing menu offerings around her.

Then, we teased something big at the GRAMMYs–and one week later, for the greatest night in American advertising, Super Bowl 2024, we dropped our biggest surprise yet. Our spot launched Ben’s new jumpsuit-clad, star-studded “man-boy band,” the DunKings, that spawned a menu, sold-out merch, and a song.

We weren't at a loss for famous fans, but thanks to Affleck’s authentic, well-documented love of Dunkin’, there was potential to extend our base.

So, we gave Ben the creative reins to develop our commercial spots, creating an unforgettable love letter in every feature.

There were many cameos – from musicians like JLo, Jack Harlow and Fat Joe, to bestie Matt Damon and Super Bowl MVP, Tom Brady – which enabled us to steal America’s hearts and create waves of sustained headlines. We tapped into America’s love for Dunkin’ and Ben’s burgeoning story, sucking in fans from every generation, including GenX and Millennials, by tapping into America’s nostalgic obsession with pop culture from the late 1990s/early 2000s.

But we didn’t stop there, we made it a priority to get DunKings merch into the hands of every influential outlet – from TODAY to The Late Show – to cement the brand’s

While other brands shared their commercials before the big game (the Super Bowl), our approach was to keep our lips sealed.

Despite rampant media speculation, no outlet could have predicted the ‘DunKings’–nor could they have anticipated the hold we would have on pop culture for months to come following the Super Bowl.

Our strategy hinged on unveiling new layers of the campaign slowly and deliberately, dropping hints for a month preceding the Big Game – from releasing bespoke menu items, to a song release on Spotify to limited edition merch – resulting in Dunkin’ being on the tip of America’s tongue for long before AND after the final touchdown.

Engaging former members of NSYNC, the Backstreet Boys and even the godfather of MTV’s TRL himself (Carson Daly) we didn’t just tap into pop culture, we became a phenomenon with fans clamoring to wear their love on their sleeves, just

All in, the Dunkin’ Cinematic Universe broke records, not once, not twice…but THREE times.

Starting with Dunkin’s 2023 Drive Thru commercial – we stunned with nearly 3K earned media stories and 11.7B impressions, an +800% lift in post-Super Bowl social conversations (most of any advertiser) and ranked #1 on YouTube’s Super Bowl player, Dunkin’ had its highest-ever single day of sales (in its 70+ year history).

And then we beat it - again and again.

In September, the launch of the Ice Spice MUNCHKINS Drink at the MTV VMAs spoke directly to Gen Z and resulted in another 1.7K+ stories – not to mention memes for days.

Then the icing on the donut – “The DunKings” campaign – dominated the news cycle and captivated audiences of all ages in February 2024. ‘InStyle’ proclaimed the brand “won the Super Bowl.” ‘CNBC’ called the campaign, “a master class in advertising” and ‘Rolling Stone’ exclaimed that “the boy band drought is finally over!” The sensation resulted in not only thousands of stories and 37B+ impressions, but 100% favorable sentiment.

Outside of the headlines, the brand moved the needle with 100K+ newly enrolled Dunkin’ Rewards members, a 20% increase in new visitors to stores, the best Valentine’s Day sales on record AND a sold-out merch line (in less than 20 minutes)!

How do you like them apples?

Did we create a cultural phenomenon with the Dunkin’ Cinematic Universe? We’ll let the results speak for themselves.

It’s obvious that Dunkin’ and Ben Affleck go together like coffee and donuts. The partnership was years in the making due to Ben’s history of sharing his love for the brand loud and proud. So, when this authentic relationship officially came to life, media and fans were quick to praise the collaboration as a match made in heaven.

In addition to thousands of positive stories and billions of earned impressions, Dunkin’ dominated the share of voice specific to brands at the Super Bowl. Every individual element of the campaign broke the internet and practically every media channel requested a DunKings tracksuit to be worn on-air - including a giddy Steven Colbert who proudly wore the outfit while interviewing Ben’s bestie, Matt Damon, himself.