Ben Affleck and the DunKings debut full pop song after viral Dunkin’ Super Bowl spot
Don’t dunk away at our hearts, Ben Affleck.
The two-time Oscar-winner — embracing his meme-able glory as a Dunkin’-branded pop star in the donut seller’s ad campaign — took a page out of Beyoncé’s Super Bowl strategy playbook and dropped the new music. Or in this case, the DunKings’ full boy-band inspired song.
Dunkin’ on Wednesday dropped the lyric video to “Don’t Dunk Away at My Heart (The DunKings)” on streaming services, including YouTube and Spotify, with “Affleck on the track.” So if you liked the “Argo” and “Air” filmmaker’s persona as an aspirational recording artist, the repetitive three-minute audio confection does not disappoint. And just in time for Valentine’s Day.
“The DunKings supply a sonic solution to soothe your hearts, minds, and ears,” the song description reads. “They’re gonna sing about love. They’re gonna sing about Dunkin’. And they’re gonna do it in a way that will have you putting their tracks on repeat for back to back to back listens while you sip and snack on Dunkin’.”
Affleck, 51, a longtime fan of the quick-service restaurant chain, appeared in a campaign last year in which he went through a drive-thru. This time around, he combined his “sadfleck” memes and love of iced coffee for the brand. The self-aware (and apparently shameless) actor re-teamed with wife Jennifer Lopez for the spot, as well as collaborator Matt Damon, NFL star and Boston legend Tom Brady, rappers Jack Harlow and Fat Joe, TikToker Charli D’Amelio and several others on this year’s viral campaign.
The campaign was produced by Artists Equity, the creative studio Affleck, Damon and Gerry Cardinale of RedBird Capital Partners co-founded. The artist-led studio served as the brand’s creative, production and post-production agency for the campaign.
The commercials are the latest installment in the “Dunkin’ Cinematic Universe,” which launched last year when Dunkin’s No. 1 fan (Affleck) realized his potential working a drive-thru and serving his wife during the brand’s first Super Bowl spot. That “universe” has continued its expansion: Another ad in April featured Affleck being mistaken for Damon while making a Dunkin’ run, and another last fall featured a collaboration with Ice Spice.
This year’s Super Bowl commercials featured a lot of comedy and actors — Ben Affleck, Aubrey Plaza and Ken Jeong among them — and a spot teasing Beyoncé’s new album.
Sure, now they’re peddling donuts, coffee and an Affleck-approved limited-time menu, but it’s the merch — specifically the band’s ostentatious orange tracksuits — that appears to be the most coveted (Brace yourself for a Dunkin’-inspired Halloween, folks.) The DunKings emblazoned track jacket and track pants (retailing at $60 a pop) have been selling out, as has the matching pink bucket hat.
“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’,” Jill McVicar Nelson, chief marketing officer at Dunkin’, said in a statement.
“You can chase your dreams, aim high and have a laugh while doing it, all as part of the Dunkin’ family. Dunkin’ fuels your passions, no matter how ambitious or out there they may seem,” she added.
Given the silly shtick’s warm reception, Dunkin’ felt obliged to release Affleck’s two-part ad as a cinematic film days after BLo showed up in Lopez’s studio as “the Boston Massacre” on Super Bowl Sunday. (The first part, “Popstar,” dropped during the Grammy Awards earlier this month, capitalizing on the moment the actor appeared “miserable” at the 2023 awards show as Lopez’s plus-one.)
A spokesperson for Affleck was not immediately available for comment when reached Wednesday by The Times.
Meanwhile, Damon — Affleck’s best friend of “many, many years” — told Stephen Colbert on Tuesday that the DunKings were “clearly not my idea” and elaborated on where his friendship with Affleck stood following his inclusion in the ad.
“I like at the end you say [to Affleck], ‘Remember how I said I would do anything for you? This is anything.’ That’s what you say at the end of the ad,” the “Late Show” host told the “Oppenheimer” star.
“And I actually said that to him when we were filming,” Damon said, laughing. “And he just left it in.”
“In other words, when I said I gave you a chip that means I would do anything for you, you just burned it on an ad,” Colbert quipped.
“For you know, however much time we have [left] on this beautiful planet, he’s got no more chip with me,” Damon joked.
Former Patriots quarterback Brady, who was the only DunKing that Lopez approved of in the ad, also addressed his involvement in the promotional spot.
“It was fun,” the seven-time Super Bowl champ said on Monday’s season finale of the “Let’s Go! with Tom Brady, Larry Fitzgerald and Jim Gray on SiriusXM” podcast.
“Never did you guys think in my second career I’d be a Donut DJ, did you? I’m continuing to surprise you guys!” he added.
As BLo would say, underestimate Boston at your peril.
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