by A Dunkin’ Donuts Super Bowl commercial might not have happened without one of the chain’s eponymous celebrity fans: Boston actor Ben Affleck, who directed and starred in this year’s “Dunkin’ ‘Drive-Thru’ Starring Ben.”
The network – which is apparently on a first name basis with Affleck – asked for the star’s help in making its first Super Bowl ad after seeing viral footage of him. working the drive-thru at a Dunkin’ in Medford, Massachusetts.
“We thought, who better to represent (our menu) than Dunkin’ top runner, Ben Affleck?” said Dunkin’ Chief Marketing Officer Jill McVicar Nelson in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.
The ad showed Affleck working at the drive-thru window, taking orders and taking selfies with paying customers. At the end of the commercial, Affleck’s wife, singer Jennifer Lopez, pays him a visit.
“Is that what you do when you say you’re going to work all day?” she asks incredulously, before reminding her husband to get her a frosted donut on the way out.
Fans immediately took to social media, where past images of Affleck with Dunkin’ coffee went viral.
“Everything was leading Ben Affleck to this moment, his destiny came true” he wrote a user.
“As someone who has an album called ‘runs on dunkin’ full of pictures of Ben Affleck and his ice cream (Dunkin’), I needed this commercial”, he wrote other.
Dunkin’ originally pitched an idea that involved Affleck paying a visit to the corporate boardroom, but he suggested an improvised play instead. Artists Equity, Affleck’s production company, filmed both.
Prior to the commercial’s debut, the company circulated it on Twitter and in stores. On Sunday morning, the company tweeted: “felt cute, might have Ben Affleck in our commercial later.”
“The way tennis fans feel about exclusive shoe releases is how I feel about Ben Affleck Dunkin’ release,” wrote one user, after a sign on one of the digital menus read: “Something is Ben Brewing.” , with the date of the Super Bowl underneath.
While some were thrilled to see a familiar face promoting Dunkin’s breakfast menu, some were less pleased. While Affleck’s thick Boston accent didn’t seem off-putting, his customer service could have let it down.
“It’s Boston, after all, so we had some pretty boorish and boisterous people who were willing to express their displeasure in a colorful way, and I’m still lobbying to include the most interesting ones in some of the edgier social spots.” Affleck told the WSJ.
Dunkin’ said that some scenes that didn’t make the final cut will be promoted on the company’s social media channels.
A Dunkin’ spokesperson said the network will also run the scripted ad in the coming weeks.
c mandler
