…something has to be.

Per Dunkin’, “The Iced EP kicks off a full summer of projects and surprises, including an exclusive menu from chef Nick DiGiovanni, a gaming experience with Twitch streamer SypherPK, and an exclusive Dunkin’ merch line with Ambush designer Yoon Ahn.”

The work slots into the “Dunkin’Terns” campaign, which leverages celebrities and memes in sharable fashion, designed to generate cross-generational appeal and drive media coverage.

Much like Pop-Tarts, Dunkin’s a legacy brand working hard to boost its cultural cred.

Such efforts, many based around music, have largely succeeded. With Ben Affleck’s Artists Equity calling the tune, Dunkin’s scored on the Super Bowl and aligned itself with contemporary faves like Ice Spice.

“What does that big Dunkin’ Iced button do?”

A fresh-faced “Dunkin’Tern” poses that question in the chain’s new summer campaign. 

Will Arnett and content creator Corporate Natalie supply the amusing answer in the :30 below. It’s part of an overarching celeb-filled effort hyping Dunkin’ Iced Coffee, Refreshers and SPARKD’ Energy drinks.

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s Artists Equity developed the work. Do they actually appear, perhaps as part of the DunKings band?

Well… 

…no, they don’t. But Arnett acknowledges the pair with a cute callout.

Dunkin’s done a great job in recent years of ingratiating itself deeper into pop culture. The fact that we expect Ben to appear—and nod at Will’s joke about his absence—speaks well of the strategy.

Other elements include:

• A “song of summer” ode to Iced Coffee from Joey Fatone and A.J. McLean
• Caffeinated offerings by chef Nick DiGiovanni and Dunkin’s Dan Cole
• A capsule collection from Ambush Designer Yoon Ahn 
• Custom gaming experiences with Twitch Streamer SypherPK 
• Appearances by actress Maia Reficco, Miss Massachusetts USA 2024 winner Melissa Sapini and stylist Hilton Carter—all seated around the conference room table in the lead spot

That’s a lot of promos. Guess they’re jazzed on creamy, cool java.

Do they pay those QSR wannabes in donuts and coffee? If so, sign us up for the program!

“What does that big Dunkin’ Iced button do?”

A fresh-faced “Dunkin’Tern” poses that question in the chain’s new summer campaign. 

Will Arnett and content creator Corporate Natalie supply the amusing answer in the :30 below. It’s part of an overarching celeb-filled effort hyping Dunkin’ Iced Coffee, Refreshers and SPARKD’ Energy drinks.

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s Artists Equity developed the work. Do they actually appear, perhaps as part of the DunKings band?

Well… 

…no, they don’t. But Arnett acknowledges the pair with a cute callout.

Dunkin’s done a great job in recent years of ingratiating itself deeper into pop culture. The fact that we expect Ben to appear—and nod at Will’s joke about his absence—speaks well of the strategy.

Other elements include:

• A “song of summer” ode to Iced Coffee from Joey Fatone and A.J. McLean
• Caffeinated offerings by chef Nick DiGiovanni and Dunkin’s Dan Cole
• A capsule collection from Ambush Designer Yoon Ahn 
• Custom gaming experiences with Twitch Streamer SypherPK 
• Appearances by actress Maia Reficco, Miss Massachusetts USA 2024 winner Melissa Sapini and stylist Hilton Carter—all seated around the conference room table in the lead spot

That’s a lot of promos. Guess they’re jazzed on creamy, cool java.

Do they pay those QSR wannabes in donuts and coffee? If so, sign us up for the program!

They’re cool cats. Not as cool as these musical Meow Mix tabbies, but still.

“There’s no way to watch this campaign and its many outtakes, to try The DunKings Iced Coffee with the fun Munchkins Skewer, or to wear the pink and orange tracksuits without smiling. That’s the genuine, lighthearted connection we want people to feel when they think about Dunkin’,” says Jill McVicar Nelson, brand CMO.

“The DunKings” follows Ben’s popular “Drive Thru” outing for the chain in last year’s Big Game. More recently, he shared screen time for the brand with rapper Ice Spice.

Maybe she can give him some music tips. And pointers on choreography. But keep the rad garb, which goes on sale tomorrow at ShopDunkin.com.

CLICK HERE to watch all of this year’s Super Bowl commercials. 

It’s not Ben Affleck, just Santa. Ah well.

“Grab the one thing that everyone’s lovin’.
And as it happens, they come by the dozen.
—Everybody loves a donut.”

It’s a product-focused message that succeeds by keeping things simple. No jingle bells and whistles. Just sugary treats, smiles and a bouncy beat.

Too bad those tasty donuts won’t survive to celebrate the yuletide. Ho Ho Ho!

The work breaks this week, timed to a special menu with triple-chocolate muffins, peppermint mocha lattes and Free Donut Wednesdays (when you buy any drink).

Smuggler’s Henry-Alex Rubin directed.

When Ben suggests calling the drink Vanilla Ice Spice … hell yeah!

But his rapper pal appeals to a younger demo, so Ice Spice Munchkins wins out. (Can we maybe get a product extension? That’d be a happy wake-up call for Mr. Van Winkle.)

Ben and Ice make a cute team. She’s dope and he plays it like a dope.

Check that. Ben’s an absolute doll:

Affleck surprised the cast and crew with that Ice Spice figure made of Munchkins, brand CMO Jill McVicar Nelson tells Muse. “None of us saw it coming. Her reaction was one of many authentic moments.”

He’s such a jokestah!

“We’re constantly challenging ourselves to keep Dunkin’ fresh and engaging for our fans,” Nelson says. “That’s where Ice Spice comes in, from her name to the color of her hair. And she says she’s a ‘Dunkin’ girl,’ which makes the partnership a natural fit.”

Produced by Affleck’s production house Artists Equity, the work dropped during yesterday’s MTV Video Music Awards.

Yeah, they went for the Matt Damon joke, and the counter crew talks up the Bourne actor’s “really consistent career,” much to Affleck’s chagrin. Where’s Jennifer Lopez when he needs her? She’d have set everyone straight! And she clearly knows the way to Dunkin’, having appeared in the SB outing.

Actually, this new schtick plays better than the Big Game clip (an outtake from which apparently inspired the sequel’s storyline). In the earlier spot, Ben worked the drive-thru. It was cute, but a tad forced for our taste. Here, the sharp humor really hits and Affleck’s self-aware performance nails it.

“This ad captures the exact moment when Dunkin’ is there for Ben—upping the realism factor in a way only Dunkin’ fans can relate to,” the brand says. “Ben’s impromptu humbling by the crew culminates with him saying, ‘Time for a Dunkin’ Run’—because sometimes you just need your Dunkin’ pick-me-up.”

Actually, his Dunkin’ run caused him grief. It didn’t pick him up in the slightest. Still … crullers! It’s best not to think too deeply into these things.

Affleck directed and conceptualized the :30 with his production company, Artists Equity, and it was filmed at a Dunkin’ near Boston.

Like the product itself, this stuff’s mostly empty calories, a Big Game play that never develops beyond the premise of seeing celebs doing something they wouldn’t normally do. Look, it’s Ben serving coffee! Ooh, he’s handing out crullers! Now here’s J.Lo! Meh.

What? That appraisal sounds a tad … brusque? Even rude? Sorry, we’re from Massachusetts too, and it’s just our way. No matter what Sam Adams wants you to believe. 

Jack in the Box tried something similar last summer with Mark Hamill. That effort fared better because he had a chequered history with the place dating back to his pre-Skywalker days.

The half-minute ad developed by BBDO New York and Hornet director Peter Sluszka revolves around Dunkin’ Cold-Brew coffee. (In this game, icing is a good thing!)

At one point, mini-Pastrňák gets stuck in a corner, spinning helplessly, unable to reach the puck. “Guys, I’m like super annoyed right now,” he quips. Who knew ice coffee went so well with Pasta? (Nickname humor.)

“Every year we look for a new way to bring to life the Dunkin’ NHL partnership,” BBDO executive creative director Steven Fogel tells Muse. “With all that’s going on, this year was a little different. We’re all sort of living in our own little bubbles, which got us thinking about everyone’s favorite game: bubble hockey.”

Working with arcade company Super Chexx, the team developed a standard-sized custom table and an oversized version of the game, allowing the camera to zoom in and capture all the details. “Hornet mapped it all out and sculpted the figures to really capture the guys’ likenesses, right down to Pasta’s chipped tooth,” Fogel says.

It took six to eight hours to film each frame of the 30-second commercial, and the team crafted two-dozen specialized painted heads for Pastrňák and Oshie to bring the action to life.

“For a couple of weeks, it was near constant communication, going over animatics, recording the players, and plotting out all the hockey action to be as realistic as possible,” recalls Doug Fallon, also an agency ECD. “There was a lot of great discussion on specifics: ‘What’s the exact color of Pasta’s plastic beard?’ How many times should he swivel? How many ice cubes would fit in a mini bubble hockey Dunkin’ Cold Brew?”

It’s a clever skate-around, allowing the team to craft a compelling spot without bringing the platers together IRL during quarantine.

“There’s definitely a lot of cool stuff left over from the shoot—the bubble games, Pasta and Oshie figures, plus their tiny heads in every possible facial expression,” Fallon says. “Some plans are underway to get them into some lucky Dunkin’ fans hands.”

Naturally, the stars took their best shots to tease the concept on social:

@tjoshie77 I’m always up for a little hockey. Haha, little, get it? #insidethebubblewithdunkin https://t.co/jKGg9B4YJw pic.twitter.com/xZNx7Ybmrm

— davidpastrnak (@pastrnak96) February 2, 2021

You’ve seen me play @pastrnak96 but have you seen Mini-Osh play Mini-Pasta bubble style? Don’t think so. https://t.co/Ak3ZFIzC5M

— TJ Oshie (@TJOshie77) February 6, 2021

CREDITS

Client: Dunkin’
Campaign: Bubble Hockey

Client: Dunkin’
Sr. Brand Manager: Corie McNeil
Associate Manager: Briana Appel

Agency: BBDO NY
Chief Creative Officer, Worldwide: David Lubars
Executive Creative Director: Doug Fallon
Executive Creative Director: Steven Fogel
Creative Director: Talon Gustafson
Creative Director: Brian Pinkley
EVP, Group Executive Producer: Diane Hill
Senior Producer: Mike Woodall
Senior Music Producer: Julia Millison
Music Production Intern: Katie Theobalds
EVP, Senior Director: Jim Santora
VP, Account Director: Carrie White
Account Executive: Griffin Heller
Assistant Account Executive: Sydney Doerge
VP, Group Planning Director: Marc Allen

Production Company: Hornet
Director Name: Peter Sluszka
Managing Director: Hana Shimizu
Head of Production: Karen Lawler
Head of Creative Development: Kristin Labriola
Production Supervisor: Dez Stavracos
Producer: Trever Stewart
Associate Producer: Riley Spencer
Senior Editor: Anita Chao
Assistant Editor: Minseok Kim
Production Coordinator: Lotty Vigue

Pre-Production
Storyboard Artist: Sean Lattrell
Character Designer: Cat Rao
Design Exploration: Jennifer Ely
Design Intern: Tyler West

Stop Motion
Line Producer: Joel Kretschman
Director of Photography: Ivan Abel
VFX Supervisor: John Harrison
Motion Control Operator: Richard Coppola

Gaffer: Michael Yetter
BB Electric: Chris Clarke
Key Grip: Balz Beillmann
BB Grip: Adam Lukens, Steven Ploe

Art Director Tim McDonald
Fabricators: Peter Erickson, Maxwell Sorensen, Mikail Ekiz, Illya Smelansky, Camille Labarre, David Assel, Ben Kress, Nico Benenati, Argon Props

Animators: Mikail Ekiz, Matt Somma, Maxwell Sorensen

Food Stylist: Sandra White
Food Stylist Asst.: Dilara Orer

Safety Officer: Robert Berman
Cleaning Tech: Gerardo Ruiz
Production Assistant: Koren Harpaz

Post-Production
Lead Compositor: John Harrison
Compositor: Guilherme Ferreirinha, Xiaoxiao Tan, Ted Wiggin

Color: Honest Labor Color
Colorist: Shawn King
Color Producer: Alex Rochinski

Audio Post-Production: Sound Lounge
Audio Mixer: Rob DiFondi
Sound Designer: Marshall Grupp
Senior Producer: Lauren Mullen

Manufacturing Partner: Home Arcade Games

“Marathons bring out the best of the human spirit, and the collective good that surrounds our hometown race is remarkable, inspirational and contagious,” said Don Lane, chief marketing officer of Saucony. “We’re proud to partner with fellow Boston brand-icon Dunkin’ in the creation of the Saucony x Dunkin’ Kinvara 10, delivering even more goodness to our running community.” 

“The new Saucony x Dunkin’ Kinvara 10 represents the speed for which our brand is recognized and the deep Boston heritage and support for marathoners that we share with Saucony,” added Justin Unger, director of strategic partnerships at Dunkin’ Brands. “We are proud to once again collaborate with Saucony to celebrate the love of Dunkin’ and literally keep people running throughout marathon season and all year-round.” 

The new sneaker is available for $120 at saucony.com and at Marathon Sports stores in Boston, Brookline, Cambridge and Wellesley, and marathonsports.com. It comes in men’s sizes 7-15, women’s sizes 5-12 and Big Kids sizes 10.5-6. (The kids’ shoes are at $65.) 

This is actually the second Saucony-Dunkin’ collaboration. The first one, in 2018, was a Dunkin’-branded Kinvara 9 featuring sprinkles falling off of the strawberry donut on the heel.