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Carly Adams
EN 112
Dr. Bruce
16 April 2015
A Snapshot of Dunkin Donuts: Visual Marketing throughout the Decades
When people who are not from Massachusetts think of Boston, they usually think of
Harvard, MIT, Boston sports teams, and seafood. Boston foreigners tend to forget the fact that
Massachusetts was the birthplace of the renowned breakfast and coffee food chain, Dunkin
Donuts. The first ever Dunkin Donuts opened in 1950 in Quincy, Massachusetts by Bill
Rosenberg, and since then has been through many changes and has had worldwide success. Since
1950, Dunkin Donuts has become a very competitive franchise, and ultimately it is recognized as
the worlds leading baked good and coffee chain. There are several reasons behind this success.
Of course the taste of Dunkin Donuts products and the price of their products are a big
contributing factor to their success, however the way Dunkin Donuts has used visual marketing
to build their brand since 1950 has been a crucial component to their achievements over the
years. Branding is very important for all companies, but it is especially important for restaurant
franchises because it gives potential customers a desire to go to that franchise based on the
picture of the food product they happen to see on television or other forms of media. Through
analyzing different advertisements throughout different decades, it can be shown that visual
marketing had a significant impact on the overall business of Dunkin Donuts.
The first advertisement used by Dunkin Donuts in the 1950s was a picture of a donut
figure in a teacup, carrying a tray of donuts, and the franchise continued to use this ad throughout

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the 1960s as well. (See Figure 1). The donut figure is portrayed as if he is on the move,
delivering the tray of donuts. He is also winking at the plate of donuts, indicating that the Dunkin
Donuts products are appealing and tasty, and really driving home the aspect of the importance
and abundance of donuts. This advertisement can be clearly recognized from the 50s and 60s
era because of the coloring and overall quality of the image. The donut figure is almost choppy
looking, and it is overall somewhat simple. However, this was most likely the intentions of
Dunkin Donuts at the time, to make a simple and friendly ad that puts emphasis on their
products.
There is a strong focus on how the images in advertisements influence consumers desire
to buy a certain food, and Marlene Kellers article, Advertising and Consumerism in the Food
Industry further explains what exactly makes the food in certain ads so appealing. For example,
Keller states The role of advertising is most important to a product or food item when it is first
being put on the supermarket shelves or on a restaurant menu. Companies must put extreme
amounts of effort into finding the best ways to attract attention to their products and effectively
spread awareness among the consumers in the target market, trying to prove to them that they
need and want to buy their product. (Keller, 12). Since the donut figure ad was the first
advertisement Dunkin Donuts developed, they tried to sell their product by overselling their
product. The donut figure represents the variety of donuts that Dunkin Donuts carries, and the
fact the figure was pictured in a coffee cup also shows that the franchise sells coffee. Customers
seeing this visual advertisement of a new breakfast and coffee franchise in the 1950s and 60s
would make them eager to try this new place, which is what initially brought in sales. After
Dunkin Donuts developed this visual marketing advertisement, they made a brand name and logo
for themselves, which was the beginning of their success.

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Figure 1

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the Dunkin Donuts franchise utilized television by
developing several different commercials. In the 70s, Dunkin Donuts introduced a character
known as Fred the baker (see Figures 2-4), who appeared in the majority of commercials
throughout the 70s and 80s. The first commercial that Fred appeared in showed him getting out
of bed very early and saying, time to make the donuts. Then, the commercial goes on to show
the process Fred uses to make the perfect donuts. Not long after this, time to make the
donuts, became a popular phrase when referring to doing a task early in the morning. Since this
phrase became so common, so did the overall business of Dunkin Donuts. Every time someone
used the phrased referring to Fred the baker, they were also referring to Dunkin Donuts.
Near the end of the 80s, Dunkin Donuts expanded their franchise by introducing the new
Dunkin Donuts Cereal. In the commercial, Fred the baker is depicted showing how they make
the cereal in the different donut shapes, and how they can be bought in a chocolate or glazed
version. Even though Fred is depicted cutting out the donut cereal holes one by one, they are
surely made in a factory, and less personally. Dunkin Donuts used a personal aspect to their
commercials to insure the customer that they are buying the best possible product that is
developed carefully and with care. Potential customers are more drawn to a product in which
they know is being developed with care because the brand builds a sentimental relationship with

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the customer, setting it apart from other restaurant franchises. They are ultimately saying to their
customers that this is not some regular breakfast franchise, this is Dunkin Donuts, where you can
have a donut and cup of coffee made especially for you. The cereal was developed as an option
for a healthier breakfast choice. A healthier choice was important for customers because it
takes away the feeling of guilt by having a donut. Instead, Dunkin Donuts decided to make donut
shaped cereal, as a healthier option for breakfast, which also further expands the brands
relationship with the customer by catering to their needs. In Brian Wansinks article, Does Food
Marketing Need to Make Us Fat, he describes the different marketing techniques used by
companies to get their product sold. For example Wansink states, Branding is the creation of
names, symbols, characters, and slogans that help identify a product and create a unique positive
associations which differentiate it from the competition and create additional value in the
customers mind. (Chandon, Wansink, 12). Fred the Baker represents the quality and care of
Dunkin Donuts products because he is always shown working hard making the donuts, showing
how the donuts are made, or getting up early in the morning to make the products so they are
fresh for customers. Developing Fred the baker as a character for the Dunkin Donuts brand
helped their franchise because it differentiated itself from competition, and attracted customers
because Fred represented additional personal value to their customers.
Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

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After Dunkin Donuts outgrew Fred the Baker in the 1990s, they followed a different
path for visual marketing. The main focus of Dunkin Donuts advertisements were on their food,
showing actual and simple pictures of their donuts and different types of coffee. (See Figure 5).
By just showing the products Dunkin Donuts was selling instead of using a fictional character to
promote it, it showed that the franchise wanted their brand to be associated in a more simplistic
and somewhat of a laid back kind of way.
According to Sherri Liberman, being laid back and simplistic goes along with the food
trends of the 90s. For example, In Libermans book, American Food By the Decades, she
states, Fast food was a staple in American diets, especially with low-income families or with
families too busy to have a home-cooked meal every night. It seemed that the 1990s were
continuing trends towards fast food and packaged foods that originated in earlier decades.
(Keller, 217). Although Dunkin Donuts mainly serves breakfast items and coffee, it can still be
considered fast food because it is food you can get while on the run or a quick fix for hunger or a
sweet spot. Since the advertisement simply showed the image of a donut and a cup of coffee, it
connected with customers of the 90s because in their minds the ad says, Its just a cup of coffee
and a donut, whats the harm in that? The Dunkin Donuts brand wanted to let customers know
that there is nothing wrong with taking a quick stop to get your daily donut and coffee, due to the
fact it is so easily accessible and its only a donut and a cup of coffee, so there is really no harm
in that. Dunkin Donutss visual marketing in the 90s was so successful because they connected
with the customers of that time by following food trends to make their ads more successful and
impactful.
Figure 5

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After Fred the Baker was gone, so was the catchphrase time to make the donuts.
However in the 2000s Dunkins came up with a new slogan that is still around today, which is,
America Runs on Dunkin. (See Figure 6). This slogan caught on with customers very fast, and
could be seen on coffee mugs, cups, and napkins. Essentially, anywhere Dunkin Donuts has its
name the slogan seemed to follow, and became increasingly popular. It became so successful that
people were using the slogans as spin offs for many different things, and is still used today. Since
the slogan was so popular, Dunkin Donuts was able to use this to even more of an advantage by
getting celebrities or famous athletes to endorse their products and repeat the slogan. (See
Figures 7-10)
America Runs on Dunkin is a slogan that suggests Americans gets the fuel they need
only through Dunkin Donuts coffee and products, which gives customers the ability perform to
their fullest potential, and ultimately have a good day. Along with promoting customers ability
to work to their potential, the slogan also promotes physical activity, as opposed to the fast food
trends of the nineties. Not only was this slogan a hit with customers, but it was a hit with athletes
as well. Athletes such as Rob Gronkowski of the New England Patriots, Ray Allen of the Boston
Celtics, Tyler Seguin of the Boston Bruins, and several baseball players of the Boston Red Sox
have all endorsed Dunkin Donuts coffee specifically. In Marie Braggs article, Athlete
Endorsements in Food Marketing, he discusses why athletes have such a large and successful

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impact on brands when endorsing their product. For example, Bragg states, One study also
revealed that parents perceive food products as healthier when they are endorsed by a
professional athlete and are more likely to purchase those products. (Bragg, 2). Dunkin Donuts
utilized their slogan to promote physical activity and represented their coffee as the fuel to this
activity. Having athletes endorse their fuel through different visual marketing advertisements
with different athletes, Dunkin Donuts has managed to increase the success of their franchise
tremendously.
Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

In the film Ghost World, directed by Terry Zwigoff, Zwigoff bases his story off the plot in
the novel Ghost World, by Daniel Clowes. In the movie, Zwigoff adds a character known as
Seymour, who eventually starts regularly hanging out with Enid, who is the main character. After
hanging out with Seymour, Enid sees a poster of a fast food franchise that Seymour works for,
known as Cooks Chicken. However, the poster Seymour had displayed was a characterized
picture of an African American man, and it read Coons Chicken. (See Figure 11). Later in the
movie, there is a scene in which Enid meets Seymour at Cooks Chicken, and the differences
from the poster to the new establishment were dramatic. The new Cooks Chicken establishment

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appeared to any normal burger restaurant, and the old poster of Coons Chicken compared to the
new establishment showed how their visual marketing effected and changed their overall brand
and franchise. Similar to Cooks Chicken, Dunkin Donuts drastically changed throughout the
years. Comparing Dunkin Donuts advertisements throughout different decades shows the
different visual marketing techniques and the impact they have left on customers, and ultimately
shows their success.
Figure 11

Change is inevitable, and Dunkin Donuts managed to develop their advertisements and
brand throughout decades of change by utilizing their visual marketing skills. Since Bill
Rosenberg founded Dunkin Donuts in the 1950s, the franchise has developed and grown into a
household name, thanks to all their clever advertisements. Visual marketing in the food industry,
especially Dunkin Donuts, has proved that their advertisements always connect with their
customers on a personal level, despite the decade. From starting with a choppy drawing of a
donut figure in a cup, to Fred the Bakers catchphrase, and to athletic endorsements, Dunkin
Donuts has mastered the visual marketing of their overall business, which is why they are so
successful. Although Dunkin Donuts is a worldwide franchise, it will always be the backbone of
Massachusetts.

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Bibliography
Bragg, Marie. "Athlete Endorsements in Food Marketing."Http://pediatrics.aappublications.org.
American Academy of Pediatrics, 7 Oct. 2013. Web. 30 Apr. 2015.
Chandon, Pierre, and Brian Wansink. "Does Food Marketing Need To Make Us Fat? A Review
And Solutions." Nutrition Reviews70.10 (2012): 571-593. SPORTDiscus with Full Text. Web. 24
Mar. 2015.
Keller, Marlene. "Advertising and Consumerism in the Food Industry." Johnson & Wales
University ScholarsArchive@JWU. Johnson and Wales University, 19 Feb. 2012. Web. 9 Apr.
2015.
Liberman, Sherri. "1990's." American Food by the Decades. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Greenwood,
2011. Print.
Zwigoff, Terry. Ghost World. Perf. Thora Birch, Steve Buscemi. United Artists ;, 2001. DVD