GOOD WILL DUNKIN: The Gem of the 2026 Super Bowl Ads
- Bankie Bruce
- 46 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Ever since the brilliance of the Paramount Plus Super Bowl Ad from 2024, I’ve been waiting for the past few years for something that could possibly top the star power of Creed, Sir Patrick Stewart, Arnold Shortman from Hey Arnold!, Drew Barrymore, and Lt. Dangle from Reno 911.
It took two years, but I think it finally happened, and from a place I didn’t expect.
ENTER GOOD WILL DUNKIN.
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Let me be on the record. I am a Ben Affleck guy, mainly for his portrayal as Holden McNeil in the vaunted View Askewniverse. His role in Chasing Amy and his movie-stealing scene in Jay and Silent Bob Reboot really resonated with me.
So when Affleck began doing ads in 2024 for Dunkin Donuts, leaning into his Boston background, I was hopeful.
To be fair, the 2024 and 2025 ads with the DUNKINGS boy band wasn’t bad. But they didn’t appeal to me. Something was missing to me with them. Maybe it wasn’t nostalgic enough or maybe it was TOO Boston for me. Then again, I am also a giant nerd of Potsy-like proportions, so perhaps I might not have gotten it.
Once I settled in and watched Super Bowl LX with no vested interest, save for hoping that former Jet Sam Darnold got an earned Super Bowl ring (which he did!), I was banking on the commercials. Could anything really trump the Paramount Plus ad?
GOOD WILL DUNKIN was right on par!
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For starters, the concept was fun. Before Good Will Hunting was a pilot, it was meant to be an old school 1980s comedy sitcom, based out of a Dunkin Donuts in Boston.
Immediately, I began to geek out on seeing the vintage Dunkin logo, as well as the colors in the commercial. To me, positive sentiment for a video project always begins with the aesthetic. I instantly got good vibes.
Then, the cast of characters and old school sitcom stars that were in the commercial were, to the nostalgic me, TOP NOTCH.
Jaleel “Urkel” White, Alfonso “Carlton” Ribeiro, Jason Alexander from Bob Patterson (Just Kidding), Matt “Joey” LeBlanc, and the completely underrated Jasmine Guy from A Different World took charge in the commercial. All of those 80s and 90s characters hit me pretty solid in the feels until…
SAM “MAYDAY” MALONE.
Look, I literally grew up on Cheers as a kid. And after the one-off on Frasier when he and Frasier Crane reconnected, I never thought we would ever see Ted Danson reprise the role again. Like ever. But there he was, complete in the faux-Red Sox 1980s dugout jacket, behind the Dunkin Donuts “bar”. No joke, I marked the Hell out.
The storyline was simple. Affleck played “Will Hunting”, a genius working at Dunkin, while hanging with his friends. They were busting his chops about being on “a break” with his girlfriend. And then, at the end, Jaleel White spotted his girlfriend, played by Jennifer Aniston, with a new man, Tom Brady.
The canned laughter, puntastic jokes, and call-backs to Friends, Cheers, and old sitcoms really made me smile, peaking with the canned television cheesy 80s theme song.
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Look, the Good Will Dunkin ad was hilarious and hit in all the right spots. I’m sure Dunkin will get a definite uptick in business from this commercial. But until they bring back the Chocolate Cruller, there will be no visit from me.
In all seriousness, this commercial, in my opinion, was the best of the night. I think everyone involved should be proud. And if Jaleel White and Jasmine Guy don't come into the public spotlight following this, I’d be shocked. It was very well done.
Also, my tip of the backwards cap to Sam Malone. One more for the road.
Bankie Bruce
