One of the standout commercials of the Super Bowl (aka the biggest night in television commercials) was the Dunkin’ commercial featuring some of Massachusetts’ most famous sons — Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and Tom Brady — as a musical act called the DunKings.
The real stars of the A-list-packed commercial were the track suits the DunKings wore. And, yes, they are available to buy now.
Dunkin’ has always been pretty adept at promotional merchandise, with social media-influenced apparel drops and even house paints.
This, though, continues the new tradition of taking elements of a TV commercial and expanding the “universe” into real life, like movies or TV shows do.
That was kind of the point of the commercial, too, as it turns out.
“This episodic story marks the latest installment in the ‘Dunkin’ Cinematic Universe’ – a journey that began exactly one year ago when Dunkin’ made its number one fan’s dream come true by allowing Ben Affleck to work in the Dunkin’ drive-thru,” Dunkin’ said in a press releaes. “In the brand’s first-ever Super Bowl spot, he took a surprise order from his wife, Jennifer Lopez. This universe continued to expand, from Ben being mistaken for Matt Damon while making a Dunkin’ run in April to a collaboration with Ice Spice for a bespoke beverage last fall.”
For fans of Dunkin’, or maybe Patriots fans who really love “Good Will Hunting,” this is the ultimate merchandise collection. It’s not overly huge, but it brings to life everything that we saw in the commercial: the track suits, the puffy bucket hat, and even a 40 oz. tumbler (because it’s the most-loved drinkware item on Earth right now).
The four items are currently available for pre-sale on the Shop Dunkin’ webstore, and the DunKings jacket and hat is already sold out. The pants are still available for $60, and the tumblers cost $40.
With its statement of intent introducing the “Dunkin’ Cinematic Universe,” it’s clear that Dunkin’ isn’t stopping here. And it goes to show that a promotion for fast food or any other business should operate somewhat in the same way as a movie or TV show. Expand the universe into tactile products, bring the intellectual property to life beyond the screen, and touch on some of the most-loved moments to create products that fans will want to wear or use for a long time.
And for anyone working in the fast food space, this is just further proof that you need to really go above and beyond to stand out in the crowd of creative ideas.
