Authentic In-on-the-Joke Partnership
Build brand partnerships from real audience associations and shared humor
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 95%
Instead of inventing a celebrity-brand relationship, identify one the audience already recognizes and turn it into shared humor. Authenticity comes from evidence: the partner uses the product, has a relevant personal history, or is repeatedly associated with the brand by the public. The campaign then signals that the company understands the audience’s existing joke and is willing to participate rather than remain distant and corporate. Dunkin’s partnership with Massachusetts native Ben Affleck worked because photographs had shown him carrying Dunkin coffee for years, while internet users already circulated images of his grumpy coffee-drinking persona. The commercial did not need to manufacture the connection; it formalized and amplified it. This middle ground combines the attention of a stunt with the credibility of a genuine relationship.
Origin
Extracted from Marketing Against the Grain through its analysis of Dunkin’s ongoing partnership with Ben Affleck.
Core principles
- 01Use associations the audience already believes
- 02Treat existing jokes as relationship assets
- 03Let the partner’s genuine behavior validate the campaign
- 04Balance cultural personality with brand fit
How to run it
- 1
Audit Organic Associations
Find the people, jokes, habits, and communities already linked to the brand in public conversation. Document evidence that the association predates a paid campaign.
Pro tip Search recurring memes, paparazzi images, fan comments, and customer stories.
Watch out Do not mistake a single viral mention for a durable association.
- 2
Verify Mutual Fit
Confirm that the partner authentically likes or uses the product and that the association supports the brand’s desired identity.
Pro tip Prioritize a smaller but credible fit over a larger unrelated celebrity.
Watch out An implausible pairing will be interpreted as a transaction rather than a story.
- 3
Name the Shared Joke
Identify exactly what the audience finds funny, familiar, or emotionally satisfying about the pairing. Preserve that core observation in the creative.
Pro tip Write the joke as the audience would explain it to a friend.
Watch out Corporate rewriting can remove the detail that made the association appealing.
- 4
Participate Without Distancing
Let the brand and partner acknowledge the joke directly. Show enough self-awareness to make the audience feel recognized.
Pro tip Allow the partner’s established persona to shape the execution.
Watch out Avoid humor that ridicules customers or undermines product trust.
- 5
Extend Selectively
Use follow-up appearances, products, or collaborations to deepen the association while keeping each activation fresh.
Pro tip Vary the format while preserving the authentic relationship at the center.
Watch out Excessive repetition can turn an organic joke into a forced brand device.
In the wild
Dunkin used Ben Affleck in commercials and had him serve coffee at a Cambridge location. The pairing reflected his Massachusetts background, years of photographs showing him with Dunkin cups, and the internet’s familiar image of him looking grumpy while carrying coffee.
→ Dunkin gained a culturally entertaining spokesperson relationship that audiences perceived as credible rather than random.
Common mistakes
Buying Reach Without Fit
A famous partner cannot compensate for a relationship that audiences immediately recognize as arbitrary.
Staying Outside the Joke
Maintaining excessive corporate distance wastes the familiarity and affection already present in audience conversation.
Forcing the Persona
Overwriting the partner’s established personality makes an authentic association feel scripted.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for brands that already appear organically in a public figure’s behavior, identity, history, or online persona.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal when the proposed partner has no credible connection to the product beyond paid reach.
From the transcript
“one of the best tools you have as a business is to be in on the joke”
“I think what I love about the Dunkin Donuts Ben affle relationship is just how authentic it is”
“this is like the perfect Middle Ground of there's a ton of credibility clear like overlapping his fandom of the brand and where he's from…”
From the episode
4 Marketing Lessons From 2023’s Best Ad Campaigns