Dunkin’ Officially Joins the Weirdest Brand Summer in Recent Memory (And It’s Working)

What in the Sydney Sweeney did I just watch… 

Somewhere between the Fall of Rome and the Sydney Sweeney “genes” ad, a Dunkin’ social media manager hit “publish” on what may be the strangest brand pivot of the year: a 35-second video featuring actor Gavin Casalegno, shirtless by a pool, explaining that his tan is not from, say, the sun, but from genetics. And also, somehow, from drinking a Dunkin’ Golden Hour Refresher. 

(Source: Giphy) 

In short, the ad started with this type of Gen Z scenery: “Look, I didn’t ask to be the king of summer,” Casalegno says. “This tan? Genetics. I just got my color analysis back. Guess what? Golden Summer.” Again, this is a Dunkin’ Donuts commercial LOL. And yet, the ad detonated like a C4 charge in the already-fragile ecosystem of online brand discourse. Within hours, TikTokers were demanding to know why “genetics” is the summer’s favorite marketing buzzword… and whether someone in the ad agency industry had inhaled too many Yankee Candle fumes. 

(Source: USA Today) 

So what even is this new era of advertising? Well, it’s a the latest mutation in a now fully deranged brand DNA experiment, where marketers try to summon controversy on purpose, mix it with a little Ryan Reynolds “Fastvertising”, and hope a few culture war of tweets will go viral before anyone notices the product tastes like lemon-drenched battery acid. Dunkin’s “genetics” gaffe follows hot on the heels of American Eagle’s now-infamous Sydney Sweeney campaign, which praised the actress’s “great genes”... perhaps you’ve heard? Which is a phrase that, depending on your level of social media brain rot, either means she has nice parents or is the face of 21st-century eugenics.

And now Dunkin’ has cannonballed into the same radioactive gene pool, bringing iced tea and shirtless actors with them. Coincidence? Probably not. As University of Michigan marketing professor Marcus Collins told USA Today, “the scrutiny may be the point.” If so, mission accomplished.

(Source: Giphy) 

As you can imagine in the year of our Lord 2025, the responses have been predictably bifurcated. Some viewers saw a golden boy sipping a golden drink and said “cool.” Others saw a sun-kissed nod to inherited privilege and screamed “cancelled.” Then there’s the third camp: the people delighted to see “non-woke” branding return. “Guess I’ll stop by Dunkin and get a drink on the way to American Eagle,” one Instagram commenter wrote, presumably while booking a flight to Boca Raton. Others declared their allegiance to the “libs crying” camp, posting victory memes and treating the ad like it was the sequel to the Bud Light backlash… just with more coconut flavoring.

And just to really stir the pot, a Trump White House official chimed in. “This warped, moronic and dense liberal thinking is a big reason why Americans voted the way they did in 2024,” wrote Communications Director Steven Cheung. Because, you know, why not? 

(Source: Giphy)

Meanwhile, back in reality… nobody is buying a Dunkin’ Refresher because of Gavin Casalegno’s skin tone. They’re buying it because it’s cold and caffeinated and they’ve already lost custody of their willpower to the summer heat. But the brand’s attempt to triangulate between Gen Z irony, right-wing backlash marketing, and TikTok thirst-trap energy ends up being… a brinks truck load of attention. And that’s exactly the point. 

Which means, while Dunkin’ is a privately held company now, they’re clearly piggybacking on the horned up attention that American Eagle just injected into its veins. Of course, Dunkin’ didn’t need to enter the genetics discourse. But now that they’re here, maybe it’s time to stop asking “Why is this happening?” and start asking who else is going to adopt this strategy within their own marketing? Maybe it’s a company in your portfolio… maybe not. But regardless, keep your eyes on this trend… because if it’s the right main character causing controversy (and a few hormonal imbalances in 16 year old boys)... then there’s a good chance Wall Street Bets will have a field day with it. Until next time, friends… 

At the time of publishing, Stocks.News does not hold positions in companies mentioned in the article.