Monday, Oct 20, 2008
Dunkin’ Hits Starbucks With ‘Pepsi Challenge’-Style Campaign
Have you seen Dunkin’ Donut’s latest advertising campaign and website?
They’ve asked “hard-working Americans” which coffee they prefer - and they evidently picked Dunkin’ Donuts. Just like the way Pepsi challenged the taste of Coca-Cola… Dunkin’ is taking on Starbucks.
In addition to advertising spots, they’ve got ecards you can send to friends and family to spread the word.
[click for larger view]
Pictured above, my favorite is the one on the left featuring Starbucks baristas as the monkeys who see, hear and say no evil.
I guess that says something about Dunkin’ Donuts. Pepsi had to promote their challenge as the #2 choice over Coke. This aggressive move by Dunkin’ proves they are actually NOT #1 but WANT to be.
Topic(s): brand building
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One reaction so far
You’ve got to applaud Dunkin for this head-on approach and this type of thing is maddeningly effective - even though the research data is likely questionable. The Pepsi challenge was ultimately debunked because it measured people’s reactions to Pepsi vs. Coke in a one sip taste test. If the “challenge” was expanded to a whole can of Pepsi vs. a whole can of Coke, the results were reversed as Pepsi is a much sweeter taste and most people get sick of that quicker. Starbucks has totally re-engineered our taste for “good” coffee to be more responsive to a bolder, darker taste, so I wonder how this “test” was administered. Could people put cream in the coffee or was it just a black coffee vs. a black coffee? If so, I can imagine that Dunkin would win the majority of times as their coffee is milder, weaker and less flavorful. As most people don’t drink their coffee black, an undressed coffee would be a more bitter taste. Nevertheless, I admire their guts, and I would hope that Starbucks doesn’t rise to the bait.
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