AdMiration feature: Dunkin’s “The Little Holiday Munchkin”

For this week’s AdMiration feature, we looked at consumer response to Dunkin’s “The Little Holiday Munchkin” ad, released just ahead of the holidays as part of their 2025 holiday campaign. 

Read on to get our 3-2-1 snapshot of the ad (3 facts, 2 learnings and 1 reflection) and learn how their ad was received based on our data.

The ad opens to an adorably animated, snowcovered Dunkin’ storefront. The narrator (Mindy Kaling) immediately comes in to tell the tale of the munchkins in rhyming couplets as a Dunkin’ employee is seen cutting the dough for donuts and discarding the circle in the center that “Always got taken away. The doughy bit in the middle not meant to stay.”         

That is, until a young boy donning snow gear in Dunkin’ brand colors comes in and says, “Hey, this one’s mine!” as he picks up one of the discarded centers. With that, the little ball of dough suddenly comes to life, complete with big eyes and little legs, as a munchkin! More and more munchkins of all varieties (glazed, powdered, and even sprinkled) start coming to life throughout the store with excitement, as Mindy Kaling narrates, “That little round piece, so simple, so small, was suddenly special. The best bite of all.” 

The little munchkins are then seen being placed into munchkin boxes and opened at holiday tables with excitement by family members young and old. 

The ad concludes with a shot of the boy who first picked up the munchkin at home in his PJs under a play tent, picking up the last munchkin from the box as Kaling says, “It didn’t need more sprinkles. It didn’t need more shine. It just needed someone to say, ‘You’re mine’” as the words “Sometimes the smallest part is the best part” appears on screen and switches to the Dunkin' tagline “The holidays run on Dunkin’” with three munchkins writing the word “munchkins” underneath. 

3 facts

• This is a strong holiday ad from Dunkin', landing in the top 15% of US ads for its ability to drive short term sales (Sales Impact: 89) and brand equity over the long term (Brand Impact: 88).

• The spot resonates strongly with viewers, making them feel strong emotions (Overall Emotion: 74 vs. 57 norm), particularly love (Love: 48% vs. 27% norm)! In fact, the ad’s biggest strength is the emotional journey it takes people on, spanning love, laughter, surprise and even some sadness — all of which ends on a high note, leaving viewers feeling positively about the brand (Brand Appeal: 4.2 vs. 3.9 norm). 

• This is a highly distinctive ad from Dunkin' that not only captures viewers attention but makes the brand clearly stand out (Unaided Brand Recall: 80% vs. 70%), allowing it to drive great reach and be noticed and remembered (Distinctiveness: 4.2 vs. 3.7 norm, Claimed Attention 4.3 vs. 3.9 norm, Brand Distinctiveness 4.1 vs. 3.7 norm) as a spot that’s festive, heartwarming and totally Dunkin’!

2 learnings

• Rhyming narration is a great way to stand out, particularly around the holidays. In this case, Mindy Kaling’s use of rhyming couplets was a wonderful way to hold viewers' attention and engage people with the munchkin’s tale in a style that feels like the holiday season. This helped the brand clearly communicate their intended message while also entertaining people (Enjoyment: 4.3 vs. 3.9 norm, Key Message Clarity: 4.4 vs. 4.2 norm), as some viewers aptly shared: "Animation is so cute with the story being told similarly to The Night Before Christmas" and "I loved the poem of the ad and I loved the fact that they made the inside something of its own after being left out and just thrown away." 

• Putting a twist on an existing product is a great way to reposition it for seasonal moments. In this case, while Dunkin’s trademark munchkins have been around since the 70s, the brand thought of a clever way to tell the tale of how they came to be in a festive, heartwarming way that was not only perfect for the holiday season, but a great way to make them come to mind as a sweet treat for the holidays and strengthen the connection between Dunkin’ and this time of year — as some viewers even shared: “Dunkin' is a good place for holiday traditions,” “Dunkin' is great for the holidays” and “Dunkin’ Donuts and munchkins donut holes are an essential part of the holiday season.” 

1 reflection

Are you making sure your brand remains at the heart of your advertising? When you switch or change your usual creative style, it's even more important for your brand to be at the heart of the visuals and narratives to ensure people get the brand.

In this case, Dunkin’ took an entirely new route for their holiday ad. While viewers may recognize them for their humorous spots featuring Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, or Sabrina Carpenter, the brand turned to animation and rhyming couplets for a heartwarming spot this holiday season, which could have made it difficult for viewers to link the ad back to the brand. 

But this wasn’t the case here. Through their excellent use of DBAs and captivating rhyming storytelling about munchkins, audiences knew it could only be an ad for Dunkin’. In fact, the new animated style was one of the most well-liked aspects of the ad, with many talking about how cute the ad was and how they liked the animation style and the holiday theme. Because of this, viewers were able to intuitively link it to the brand, strengthening the associations and emotional connections and making it come to mind more easily when it matters.

Dunkin’s “The Little Holiday Munchkin” campaign was created by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s production company, Artists Equity, with animation by Buck and narration by actress and comedian Mindy Kaling.

The ad is also based on a new children’s book of the same name, with proceeds from every book sold benefiting the Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation.

The campaign aims to reposition Munchkins from an occasional treat to a holiday hero, with the tagline, “Sometimes the smallest part is the best part.”

Jill Nelson, CMO at Dunkin’, shares: “‘The Little Holiday Munchkin’ is a reminder that joy can come from the smallest things – whether it’s a donut-hole treat, a moment of kindness, or a story shared together.”

Mindy Kaling adds: “What I love about this story is how it celebrates the overlooked things that end up being the most special. I’m a sucker for an underdog – and for the holidays – so this book is definitely earning a spot in our bedtime story rotation.”

The ad will run across TV, OLV, web and social, alongside new 2025 holiday packaging from the brand, complete with Munchkins-themed illustrations, and their book now available at Dunkin’ stores. 

Bringing loads of joy to viewers with the tale of how munchkins came to be, this spot from Dunkin’ landed in the top 15% of US ads for its ability to drive short term sales and brand equity over the long term (Sales Impact: 89, Brand Impact: 88).

The striking animated visuals, adorable munchkins and sweet story made for a very distinctive ad that stands out, allowing it to drive great reach and be noticed and remembered (Distinctiveness: 4.2 vs. 3.7 norm, Claimed Attention 4.3 vs. 3.9 norm, Brand Distinctiveness 4.1 vs. 3.7 norm).

Plus, from the brand’s pink and orange color scheme, the opening shot of the Dunkin’ restaurant, the munchkins, the Dunkin’ box and more — the Dunkin’ brand really stands out and is easily recognized in the ad (Unaided Brand Recall: 80% vs. 70%).  

The animation style of the ad and story of the munchkins told by Mindy Kaling in rhyming couplets resonates very strongly with viewers, who find it extremely adorable and love the story! This makes people feel very positive toward the Dunkin’ brand (Brand Appeal: 4.2 vs. 3.9 norm) and feel like Dunkin’ delivers what they need from a QSR brand (Brand Meets Needs: 4.2 vs. 4.1 norm).

And because of the ad’s holiday theme and story of belonging, the connection between Dunkin’ and the holidays comes through in the ad with the message “Dunkin’ makes holiday moments sweeter” being seen as clear (Key Message Clarity: 4.4 vs. 4.2 norm) and believable (Key Message Believability: 4.4 vs. 4.1 norm), with some people describing the message they took away as: “Dunkin is a good place for holiday traditions,” “Dunkin is great for the holidays” and “Dunkin’ Donuts and munchkins donut holes are an essential part of the holiday season.”

All of these aspects combined resulted in an ad that resonates very strongly with audiences. They really enjoy it (Enjoyment: 4.3 vs. 3.9 norm), find it relevant (Relevance: 4.0 vs. 3.7 norm) and easy to understand (Understanding: 4.6 vs. 4.3 norm).

But the ad’s biggest strength is the emotional journey it takes people on with the tale of the munchkins. It makes them feel something (Overall Emotion: 74 vs. 57 norm), particularly love (Love: 48% vs. 27% norm) but also takes them through feelings of laughter, surprise and even some sadness, all ending on a high note!

The ad begins with the highest spike of love as the music and Mindy Kaling’s narration begins and we see the animated version of the Dunkin’ restaurant. There’s surprise as the munchkins are thrown away and sadness as they sit alone in the snow. Love picks back up again when the little boy picks up a munchkin and the narrator says “Hey, this one’s mine!” Then laughter emits as all the munchkins get covered in powdered sugar, filled with jelly and swim in sprinkles. Love comes through again as all the munchkins are put in the Dunkin’ box and some more love and laughter as they get taken one by one by the family members. It ends with love as the boy eats the munchkin at the end and “Sometimes the smallest part is the best part” comes on screen.

Diving deeper into what viewers specifically like about this ad, the most common themes among respondents were the emotional appeal (13%) and visuals (11%), with a lot of people sharing how cute the ad was and how they liked the animation style and the holiday theme. 

Here’s what some people had to say: 

• “I loved the ad's charming cartoon art style and its poignant, heart-touching story about belonging.”

• "I liked the ending phrase, "sometimes the smallest part is the best part", and I also liked the way they described munchkins, and made them have emotions. I also like the holiday / Christmas theme."

• "I loved the poem of the ad and I loved the fact that they made the inside something of its own after being left out and just thrown away."

• "I liked the animation style, it was very cute. I liked the snow and the cozy interior of the shop and that it was holiday themed."

• "Animation is so cute with the story being told similarly to The Night Before Christmas."

• "I thought the claymation aspect was very unique and it caught my attention. I thought it was really cute."

• "I loved everything about this ad. Brings back such nostalgic memories. I love the colors. Love how they show making the munchkins. Love munchkins for the holidays."

What a cute little story about a cute little munchkin that could only be for Dunkin’! What did you think? Let us know by interacting with our coverage of the ad on LinkedIn.

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