Dunkin’, in collaboration with creative agency Maximum Effort, leaned into playful “snack” slang—millennial speak for someone who’s attractive but not necessarily relationship material—for their new “Not Just a Snack” campaign, spotlighting the brand’s $6 Meal Deal.
The 90: commercial features a star-studded cast of actors often labeled as “snacks” themselves, including James Marsden, Charles Melton, Tramell Tillman, Gavin Casalegno, and Dylan Efron. Each questions why they’re so easily dismissed as fleeting eye candy as they pull up to a Dunkin’ drive-thru.
Their musings are cut short by comedian Zarna Garg, who reminds them—and viewers—that Dunkin’s $6 Meal Deal is substantial, satisfying, and definitely not to be underestimated.
Here’s what iSpot’s Creative Assessment platform revealed on actual viewer response to the :90 spot.
The Details:
- Not surprisingly, viewer comments on the :90 “Not Just a Snack” reflect positive response to the $6 Meal Deal and humor employed, with the primary objection linked to the long length of the spot and for some, the repetition of the same concept within the ad:
- Second-by-second trace suggests opportunity for Dunkin’ to shorten the opening segment (or place in non-skippable media due to low engagement) as well as cutting the ad to a shorter (or multiple shorter) form(s).
Sample comments on “Not Just a Snack” :90
“I love love love love love this ad! I would watch it 50 times, because first of all, the first actor is one of my favorites and the rest of them are gorgeous, or in today’s slang, snacks. And I thought it was hilarious that the Dunkin’ drive-thru employee said I am not your therapist. That part really made me laugh.”
Female 50+
“I thought it was very funny but it did go a little too long for me. I also felt the close up that the commercial opened with went on for too long as well. But overall, it was very funny and enjoyable.”
Male 36-49
“It was too long with the same idea playing out with different actors and the same therapy gag. Stick to just one scene of the therapy metaphor and have the others do something else. It was too long and I became bored and annoyed with them all needing therapy at Dunkin.”
Female 21-35
“I really enjoyed this ad as it was humorous, memorable, and creative. It definitely helps the brand stand out more and I think the celebrity endorsements will go a long way.”
Male 36-49
“If I had a remote control, I would have turned away from this ad at the beginning. It looked stupid so click, click, you are gone. Since I had to watch the entire ad, I thought it was attention grabbing. You should make the beginning shorter and get to the $6 meal sooner.”
Male 50+
“It started by grabbing my attention then went to a ‘WTF’ moment. Made me smile and laugh a bit. Didn’t really listen to the snack deal until the third or fourth time she mentioned it.”
Male 36-49
“I really like how at first it seemed like the person was in a therapy session but he was actually in a drive-through of Dunkin’ Donuts and the lady just told him ‘I’m not a therapist.’ It’s so funny.”
Female 21-35
“I thought it was clever and well put together. Who needs a therapist when we have Dunkin’s delicious food to take our thoughts away and make us happy and for 6$? You can’t beat that.”
Male 21-35
“It was really funny but it got way too long. It would have been one of the better ads but they pushed it too much and I just wanted it to end after a while.”
Female 36-49
“That was one of the greatest ads I’ve ever seen. I love James Marsden and the humor in the ad. I love the drive-thru lady, she’s funny. I love Dunkin’.”
Male 36-49
- iSpot’s Creative Assessment analyzed three years of Dunkin’ ads to pinpoint the winning creative elements that most influence consumer intent. The Optimal Profile below reveals the features that set high-performing ads apart:
- Relevance/relatability was the strongest distinguishing creative factor of Dunkin’ intent, with Information and Attention also strong contributors. Likeability and Change conveyed by the creative were less differentiating. (This does not necessarily mean the brand’s ads are not likeable or different, just that these aspects did not separate the spots that drove lower vs higher intent.)
- As seen below, the :90 “Not Just a Snack” underperformed the brand’s Optimal Profile on every driver and especially in Relevance (the key driver) and Likeability. As such, the video would not be anticipated to deliver above-norm outcomes in driving brand intent (which was confirmed in consumer testing, see further below).
- This model can be employed with all live and/or pretested creative to identify the highest potential spots in any campaign before going on air.
- Armed with this information on each of the brand’s creatives, the media team is also empowered to allocate budget accordingly to optimize business results.
- Note that other brands will have their own unique Optimal profiles.
- Relevance/relatability was the strongest distinguishing creative factor of Dunkin’ intent, with Information and Attention also strong contributors. Likeability and Change conveyed by the creative were less differentiating. (This does not necessarily mean the brand’s ads are not likeable or different, just that these aspects did not separate the spots that drove lower vs higher intent.)
- Given the preponderance of commercial time dedicated to the characters (the most impressionable aspect of the long form video) vs the product(s) or deal, consumer consideration (58% Top 2 Box) trailed the overall QSR one-year benchmark by -9 pts:
- However, viewer sentiment indicates positives for the concept overall suggesting that other, shorter executions with more balanced character vs product/deal content could be more persuasive.
- Even at :90, “Not Just a Snack” served as an excellent brand reminder, with 93% recalling Dunkin’ (unaided) after just one exposure.
- However, viewer sentiment indicates positives for the concept overall suggesting that other, shorter executions with more balanced character vs product/deal content could be more persuasive.
- Despite the longer length, “Not Just a Snack” sparked consumer intent more successfully than a :15 Tim Horton’s ad featuring Ryan Reynolds:
- Panera’s product-focused :15 on the brand’s new Croissant Toast Sandwiches drove seven in ten to positive intent, with 41% being much more likely to try.
- Information and Relevance were key to Panera’s persuasive abilities while Dunkin’s :15 spot on the $6 Meal Deal (product-focused “A Big Deal”) was the most persuasive.
- Panera’s product-focused :15 on the brand’s new Croissant Toast Sandwiches drove seven in ten to positive intent, with 41% being much more likely to try.
- Some in-market wear has been observed on Dunkin’s :15 “A Big Deal” pointing to opportunity for fresh creative:
- While an alternative version has begun to air, viewers often do not see minor changes to visuals/audio in such ads and as such, the wear is likely applicable to both spots.
Advertisers need to identify the creative that will drive business outcomes and ensure that in-market execution aligns against the highest potential ads.
Schedule a demo to find out how your brand can partner with iSpot to quickly solve both challenges simultaneously, delivering high-performing creative while boosting the effectiveness of planning and in-market execution to achieve—and outperform—campaign objectives.
Creative Agency: Maximum Effort