Anyone with even an iota of cultural literacy in America knows that Dunkin’ Donuts (now just Dunkin’) is one of our nation’s most auspicious fast casual coffee proprietors. The iconic pink and orange lettering that defines the company, which was first founded in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1950, has seeped into our collective consciousness, and lately, it’s also popped up in some prominent celebrity ventures.
On August 18th, hot rapper-singer Doja Cat announced a new clothing line called It’s Giving that uses coloring and lettering that adhere suspiciously closely to the Dunkin’ aesthetic. The Daily Beast reached out to Doja Cat for comment.
A couple days later, reporter Maria Leaf pointed out that Bernie Sanders had tweeted out a rally ad for the working class that included Teamsters president Sean O’Brien and Association of Flight Attendants-CWA Sara Nelson—the Sanders poster also looked like an ad for Dunkin.’
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“America runs on solidarity,” the poster reads, which closely mirrors the famous “America runs on Dunkin’” slogan. The Daily Beast reached out to the Sanders campaign and Dunkin’ for comment. Will there be lawsuits, or will everybody glory in the shared semiotics? We shall see.
Whatever, it is perfect marketing timing all round, with the fall flavors (and calorie amounts) at Dunkin’ just being announced too: get ready for the Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew, Pumpkin Spice Signature Latte, Nutty Pumpkin Coffee, and the Blood Orange Dunkin’ Refresher.
Even if the Doja Cat and Sanders Dunkin’ imitations were unintentional, they’ll never come close to wresting the Dunkin’ King crown from Boston’s number one boy and newly minted Mr. Jennifer Lopez: Ben Affleck.
Affleck is the Mayor, President and CEO of Dunkin,’ whether he was scooping pandemic packages off his stoop while balancing an iced coffee on the boxes or wrapping his arms around his new wife, donut bag in hand.
