Ben Affleck’s Dunkin Ads Keep Getting Celebrity Right

Dunkin’s team-up with Ben Affleck, and his agency Artist Equity, has been one of the most creatively fruitful brand-celebrity tie-ups of the 2020s. It helps that Affleck himself is a major fan of the QSR brand, giving him skin in the game both as a brand loyalist and the agency boss. But the most valuable things he’s brought to the table have often been his willingness to have fun at his own expense, and his eye for pop culture moments that can make great stories for new commercials.

Enter Jen Affleck. She’s the star of reality show “The Secret Lives Of Mormon Wives” and of the new Dunkins commercial, which shows both Ben Affleck’s cultural savvy and his self-mocking humour to great effect. Jen’s rise to stardom has inevitably led people to ask about her famous surname – could she and the Hollywood star be related? As it happens, no, but she jokingly teased a connection and Dunkin have picked up on that for the new ad.

The ad shows a Dunkin worker calling out “Affleck” and being surprised when Jen introduces herself. She’s Ben’s “cousin”, but more importantly she’s “the Value Affleck”, a cheaper deal that gives much better value for money. (And the ad, naturally, is promoting a $6 value deal at Dunkin). She points out that she’s younger and hotter, while Ben is showing his age – and we cut to the man himself, waiting in the drive-in queue and protesting that he’s not bad for 53.

It’s typical of the way Ben Affleck has approached Dunkin commercials – plenty of jokes wrapped around a solid product message, and a healthy willingness to both exploit his connection to the brand and make fun of himself. Recruiting his namesake Jen is a great way to widen the scope of the commercials, tap into a rising star’s fame with younger viewers, and make a point about the value deal.

Audiences respond strongly to the ad, with “humor” being the key association. “The Value Affleck” particularly excels at short-term impact and brand recognition. It gets Exceptional scores on both Spike Rating (predicting short-term sales spikes) and Brand Fluency (fast recognition of Dunkin). That’s the right result for an ad which is about driving awareness for a promotional deal, and while a few viewers found the ad confusing, the exceptional recognition shows that the Affleck/Dunkin association is hitting the mark for audiences.

At System1 we talk a lot about the right way to use celebrities, and one of the things we always advise is to take a star and use them in a larger than life way. If you only have 30 or 60 seconds of your audience’s attention, there’s no point in being subtle – have fun with your celebrities! Ben Affleck in his dual role as creative and star is taking this to heart with Dunkin, and “The Value Affleck” is another example of the brand getting celebrity right.