Dunkin’, a coffee-and-donut chain, was squeezed between Starbucks and McDonalds. Dunkin’ had doubled down on product experimentation, but the strategy hadn’t translated to sustained growth. Forgettable ads were forgotten, and traffic was on an 8 year decline.

Dunkin’ had to steal attention—and sales—from their competitors. To do that, they had to make a seismic impact on culture. They needed a fresh creative strategy, and a game-changing collaboration.

Dunkin’s advertising was on a marketing treadmill, messaging around constant menu updates. To no end—traffic was declining. And that traffic was going to Starbucks and McDonalds.

Dunkin’ did own traffic and attention in their historic home in the Northeast. 47% of adults in Boston order Dunkin’ at least once a month, and brand love is sky high.

But regional success hadn’t translated to national success. They were too reliant on their core loyalists: 43% of Dunkin’s total sales came from the Northeast, a region representing only 10% of the US population.

The challenge was extending that dominance to the rest of the country. Dunkin’ needed to raise their profile and drive awareness, positive sentiment, and, ultimately, sales.

Dunkin’ had to launch themselves over the heads of their competitors in the public conversation. And that meant creating an undeniable cultural moment that would put Dunkin’ on everyone’s radar.

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

Boston has a character all its own, and it’s proud. It produced cultural touchstones like Cheers, The Departed, and dominant global sports brands like the Red Sox (MLB) and the Celtics (NBA). The accent is a beloved American icon.

Famous Bostonians are as proud of their Boston heritage as anyone. For some figures, Boston becomes a part of their public persona.

Such is the case for Ben Affleck. Ben’s global stardom has been rooted in his Boston upbringing since his breakout performance in Good Will Hunting, and he’s one of America’s true A-listers. He’s a two-time Oscar winner, a renowned performer and director, and he’s married to fellow A-lister Jennifer Lopez.

He’s been photographed carrying Dunkin’ since the 90s. Known for his meme-inducing moments of ennui, 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.”

Ben and Dunkin’ shared the same Boston qualities: relatability, blunt honesty, enthusiasm, and a willingness to enjoy a joke, even if it may be at his own expense.

Dunkin’ was clawing for relevancy in an ongoing attention-grabbing competition, and losing. National giants Starbucks and McDonald’s owned premium experiences and predictable convenience, respectively; both were loud in pop culture.

So we needed to figure out how to generate outsized conversation, and do it in a way that was unique.

The answer was to start with that inimitable, authentic soul of Dunkin’: the every-man ethos, the hustle and ambition, that relatability that came from their roots in the Northeast.

This was our needle to thread: nationally relevant, but regionally informed; headline-making but relatable; and all laddering into their existing America Runs on Dunkin’ brand platform.

We also knew we had to build more than a moment. We needed a creative platform that retained attention, and built on itself to cement Dunkin’ as a real first choice in people’s minds.

We dug into the data and discovered that Dunkin’s largest sales opportunity, Infrequent and Lapsed purchasers, came for just three things: hot coffee, donuts, and iced coffee. All those limited time offers weren’t building new use cases.

We also learned that these Infrequent customers had positive feelings about Dunkin’s brand. We’d lost relevance and top-of-mind awareness, but that sense of nostalgia and love remained.

It wasn’t that we had to reinvent the brand. It was that we had to reintroduce it, to use the brand’s core ID to activate the love that already existed, or spread that love to new people.

Often, the best way to do that is to elevate and dramatize a true believer. A savvy cultural observer would notice that there was one fan more loyal, and more entwined with Dunkin’, than the rest.

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).

Letting Ben lead on 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 organic demand, opportunistically securing Dunkin’s first ever Super Bowl spot in 2023.

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

Then, we teased something big at the GRAMMYs – and then for the greatest night for 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, and spawned a menu, sold-out merch, and a song.

All in, the Dunkin’ Cinematic Universe broke records.

Drive Thru stunned with 16B earned impressions, +800% lift in social conversation post Super Bowl (most of any advertiser), and was #1 on YouTube’s Super Bowl player. Beyond the attention, Dunkin’ had their highest-ever single day sales (in +70 years!).

Then in September, during the MTV Video Music Awards, the launch of the Ice Spice Munchkins Drink gained 12.8B earned impressions and 1729 earned media placements.

Finally, surpassing all expectations, the latest installment “The DunKings” earned 40.4B impressions, had 96% positive sentiment, and sold out merch in 19 minutes.

When we look back at the year of Dunkin’ + Ben, we see:

69.1 Billion Earned Impressions

+14pts brand awareness pre- to post campaign

+11pts consideration pre- to post campaign

+10.7% in sales pre- to post campaign

+20% in new visitors compared to previous two years

2 record-setting sales days