Ben Affleck has famously parlayed his lifelong love of Dunkin into a wildly successful brand partnership. And said partnership has gone so viral, in fact, that Dunkin has rolled out a line of branded merchandise, from tracksuits to Funko Pops.
The Air director's connection to the coffee-and-donuts chain recently culminated in a star-studded Super Bowl campaign, which roped in everyone from the actor's real-life wife Jennifer Lopez to famous bestie and collaborator Matt Damon to TikTok star Charli D'Amelio (who, yes, does actually know who Ben Affleck is now.)
After the ad took the world by storm, the same "DunKings" tracksuits and fuzzy bucket hats worn by Affleck, Damon and football superstar Tom Brady were released by Dunkin for fans to purchase. The $60 over-the-top, bright-orange ensembles sold out in a whopping 19 minutes on ShopDunkin.com. Shortly after, Affleck and Co. took to Spotify to release the official hit track by their fictional pop group, the DunKings: “Don’t Dunk Away at My Heart."
But the heavily caffeinated star isn't stopping there. On Friday, February 23, Dunkin announced that DunKings fans everywhere can now pre-order limited-edition Pops! Yourself Funko Pop decked out in the DunKings’ iconic pink-and-orange tracksuits.
Funko famously creates collectible pop culture figurines for everything from blockbuster franchises like Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe to beloved TV series like The Golden Girls and Seinfeld. Now, from February 23 through March 1, Dunkin fans can create their own fully customized Funko Pop for $30, including the ability to choose a DunKings tracksuit from the clothing options and accessorize their cute little figurine with a cup of Dunkin coffee. And each Pop! will come in a special Dunkin’ branded box. Fans can simply visit Funko.com to create and download their custom Pop! avatar with the Pop! Yourself character creator.
Dave Bere, vice president of Funko Pop! Yourself, told USA Today how Affleck's humorous commercials inspired the toy brand to get in touch with Dunkin for the collaboration:
It just was so fun and it resonated. The outfits, the quirkiness, all of it. We just we thought it was a perfect fit. The messages starting right after (the ad aired).
Ben Affleck's loyalty to the New England-based java juggernaut has been well-documented over the years, with the movie star regularly getting spotted by paparazzi hauling around large Dunkin coffees and boxes of the chain's sweet treats.
The current collaboration, which includes his signature DunKings drink (“a classic iced coffee with notes of vanilla combined with cream, topped with Sweet Cold Foam and a dusting of cinnamon sugar," per the brand), seems a natural fit for the Boston-born actor. The Dunkin campaign is a partnership with Affleck and Matt Damon’s Artists Equity, an "artist-led studio reimagining the relationship between talent, studio, and distributor," which served as the brand's creative, production and post-production agency for the campaign.
Given the popularity of his Dunkin collab and the merchandise it has inspired, we're expecting to see plenty more coffee-loving commercials starring Ben Affleck in the future. Now excuse us, we have to go make a Funko Pop of ourselves wearing one of those insane Dunkin tracksuits!
