by With an advertisement featuring Gavin Casalegno from The Summer I Turned Pretty, Dunkin’ added a new beverage to their menu on Tuesday, and it’s already making waves online.
Casalegno gives a humorous monologue on his status as the King of Summer in the 35-second ad that promotes the Golden Hour Refresher. Look, becoming King of Summer just sort of happened; I didn’t ask for it. This tan? In the video, he refers to genetics.
The Dunkin’ ad, which was published a few days after American Eagle, features the actress’s physical attributes and is a wonderful jeans campaign. Parents pass on their genes to their children, which frequently determine characteristics like eye color, personality, and hair color. In the video, Sweeney states, “My genes are blue.”
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How American Eagle s Sydney Sweeney good jeans ad went wrong
Social media users have accused American Eagle and Dunkin’ of pushing Eurocentric beauty standards and even eugenics-related concepts in their ad campaigns, sparking online discussion.
Casalegno humorously refers to his color analysis in the Dunkin’ commercial, which is a method used to assist people choose hues that complement their skin tone. He states in the video, “I just received my color analysis back.” You know what? It’s literally golden summer!
He says, “I can’t help it every time I drink a Golden Hour Refresher, it’s like the sun just finds me,” while sitting by a pool and holding one. With a casual, “So if sipping these refreshers makes me the King of Summer?” the actor admits his self-appointed title. As accused, I am guilty.
Despite the fact that the Dunkin’ ad does not contain any wordplay about genes, several viewers expressed their disapproval of the video’s usage of genetics and its timing in relation to AE’s inflammatory campaign.
Why have advertisements suddenly become so fixated with genetics? questioned a TikTok user. Numerous people made comparisons to the Euphoria actress video.
Another Tik Tok user commented on the Dunkin’ commercial, asking, “What in the Sydney Sweeney did I just watch?”
The Dunkin’ video has received 1.8 million views on its TikTok page as of this writing.
Social media users were eager to call attention to what they perceived as a troubling marketing trend, accusing it of having racist overtones. Some even declared their intention to completely boycott Dunkin’.
One TikTok user declared, “I will never again eat Dunkin’ Donuts.” Another Instagram user commented, “This ad is really effective in making sure I’m never going to Dunkin again.”
A request for comment from Boston.com was not answered by Dunkin.
We would want to know: Provocative advertising has been a common strategy employed by brands to stand out from the competition and capture viewers’ attention. Do you believe that the Dunkin’ commercial went too far? Is the timing off? Or is the backlash exaggerated, in your opinion? Please fill out the form below or send us an email at [email protected] with your thoughts.
How do you feel about Dunkin’s “Golden Hour Refresher” ad?
Annie Jonas writes for Boston.com as a community writer. She used to work as a freelancer at the Financial Times and as a local editor at Patch.
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