“D’oh!” Dunkin’ Donuts Launches a 2011 Campaign, Hold the Homer.

There aren’t many famous quotes about doughnuts but we’ll always have Hollywood. Perhaps you don’t recall Chevy Chase remarking, “A doughnut without a hole is a danish!”*

Then there’s – oh yes – Homer Simpson. The iconic donut consumer. The most influential everyday Joe in America, if not the world. So I’m wondering about the news that Dunkin’ Donuts released early this week. The company announced it’s launching a new multimillion-dollar marketing campaign for its coffee business because the competition for coffee-drinkers is heating up.

I mention Mr Simpson because the new retail campaign is being called “everyday Joes,” at least at this point. However…it appears that these particular Joes will be drinking the fairly well known Dunkin’ Donuts coffee rather than chow-hounding the chain’s crullers. Kim Conte, writing on The Stir blog, has already noted:

The commercials, which star ordinary people (firefighters, cops, construction workers, etc.) who are fans of the brand and auditioned for the spots last year, are accessible and relatable.

Dunkin’ Brands’ John Costello, chief global customer and marketing officer, is quoted as saying: “The love that our customers have for Dunkin’ Donuts is truly unique, and this campaign ties into that passion in a very personal way.”

I buy Mr Costello’s “personal” and – given the strong product identification in the TV spot I found online – there’ll be some gain in share-of-coffee-slurpers. The new commercials have been created for the campaign by Hill Holiday in Boston. I haven’t seen them running here, possibly because the Dunkin’ Donuts stores have all but disappeared from my neck of the woods. There’s a store northwest of me, 7510 Highway 6 N, which I’ll visit to see if there’s evidence of the new “I’m Drinking Dunkin’” campaign theme.

But I wonder: Can you truly separate the coffee from the donuts? It’s like calling the old Kentucky Fried Chicken by a new name, KFC, and hoping that everyday Joes won’t notice that you’re still selling the wonderfully sinful chicken. Or donuts, or whatever else is supposed to be bad for the American people this week.

Dunkin’ Donuts will probably do just fine. But here proximity tops brand: one of Dunkin’s few Houston stores is still 11 miles away. I’ll stick with Starbucks^†, thanks.

*That was in “Caddyshack,” look it up. ^†Even with the revised logo. Actual illustration of “Homer Simpson” created by Matt Groening. Copyright ©2006 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All rights reserved.