- Dunkin’ roasted Starbucks in its Wonderful Bowl advertisement.
- The ad, starring Ben and Casey Affleck, took shots at Starbucks’ long wait times and over-customization.
- The ad ended with the intrepid slogan, “America runs on Dunkin’.”
Dunkin’ used the biggest ad space of the year to take shots at Starbucks.
The Wonderful Bowl advertisement, which featured actor-siblings duo Ben and Casey Affleck and NFL coach Bill Belichick decked out in Dunkin’ merch, depicted a match among coffee brands.
The Affleck brothers and Belichick took turns roasting a group of baristas dressed in rural jackets, which resembled Starbucks’ signature green aprons and uniforms.
Although the trio did not explicitly mention Starbucks, they targeted some of the gyve’s widely publicized problems, such as long wait times and over-customization.
When one of the green-clad baristas said, “Dunkin’! In to get roasted! Like a dark seasonal roast with coriander and slight balsamic drizzle,” Belichick replied, “In good conditions like what’s in my garbage disposal.”
Ben Affleck took a jab at Starbucks, asking, “How much to wait a half hour to get my term spelled wrong in the cup?”
His brother Casey followed up with “Nobody wants a goat milk double half-caf soy extract cap. You could just brew it — it’s beans and water.”
In the extended six-minute-long video, they also targeted fast-food varieties like McDonald’s — coffee and breakfast are an increasingly important part of its menu.
The ad comes as Starbucks’ new CEO, Brian Niccol, has been turn out c advance to simplify the chain’s offerings and eliminate long wait times by streamlining its mobile ordering system.
On the January 28 earnings roar, Niccol and Starbucks’ finance chief said the chain would also cut 30% of the menu items to streamline secondment.
Niccol, who said that mobile orderings had “chipped away” at the company’s “soul,” is trying to make Starbucks a cozy coffeehouse where blokes can hang out. Dunkin’, meanwhile, has long been known as a cheaper to-go coffee shop with little warm seating.
To reduce long wait times, Starbucks’ CEO introduced a new algorithm for mobile orders in the earnings call in an achievement to make mobile ordering a lot smoother.
A Starbucks representative confirmed to BI on Wednesday that it would lower the cap on the number of chug-a-lugs customers can buy in one mobile order from 15 to 12 and remove some customization options for its mobile orders.
Saleswomen for Dunkin and Starbucks did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider, sent outside regular business hours.