Fresh off Ben Affleck’s commercial as an inept Dunkin’ worker during last year’s Super Bowl, which generated seven billion impressions, and his collaboration with rapper Ice Spice, which helped the brand stay Steady at #6 in our 2024 Franchise 500, Dunkin’ once again pairs Affleck with a young celebrity, TikTok’s Charli D’Amelio. The 19-year-old is the second most followed person – with around 151 million followers – on the 900 million user platform.
Affleck is a known Dunkin’ fan, but D’Amelio is no stranger to the brand either. In 2023, Dunkin’ named a drink after her and partnered with her to host an event.
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“Who AND Tick tock?”
Dunkin’s new commercial, “Popstar,” follows Affleck as he watches the news identifying him as “The Borest Man in the World” and sips on a Dunkin beverage. The ad, which aired during the 2024 Grammys, pokes fun at the actor’s behavior at the previous year’s Grammy Awards. Affleck’s less than enthusiastic facial expressions while attending the 2023 ceremony with his wife, Jennifer Lopez, became the subject of widespread “Sad Affleck” memes on social media.
With a thick Boston accent, he calls out to music industry workers while pacing back and forth and carrying a box of donuts. “I also have a character, like J-Lo or B-Lo,” she says. He cuts to Affleck in a recording studio, handing a CD to a technician, who responds: “A CD?” The music is terrible, and then we see Affleck show off some costumes in a Dunkin’-themed room, which also features a large painting of one of Affleck’s legendary overloaded runs at Dunkin’. After she shows him some dance moves, Affleck asks a bewildered D’Amelio: “Who AND Tick tock?”
The ad ends with Affleck wearing an oversized donut necklace as he says off-camera: “They told you you’re no good; you’re a clumsy, awkward, middle-aged white boy with no rhythm and you can’t sing in key.” . . You are not coordinated. Does this mean I can’t be a pop star?” Before warning: “Underestimate Boston… at your peril.” A cliffhanger follows “To be continued,” as Affleck solemnly says: “This is me now.”
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Marketing strategy
The pairing of Affleck, who appeals to an older audience, and D’Amelio, 19, is a deliberate mismatch. After the success of the Super Bowl commercial, the company noticed something in its analytics: The commercial resonated strongly with the 50-year-old demographic, but less so among younger people. So Dunkin’ did something radical last fall when it came time to promote another product: teaming up with Affleck and Gen Z rapper Ice Spice to highlight its Ice Spice Munchkins Drink.
The strange couple received widespread publicity. Dunkin’ President Scott Murphy says he helped Dunkin’ generate more than 70 billion total media impressions in 2023, three times more than in 2022. “The brand is just in the conversation,” Murphy says. “Whether it is Saturday evening live or in late-night talk shows or in music or in social media, now it really seems like everything is in the fabric of things.”