Implications of Dunkin' Donuts Ice Spice Drink

Today we will be talking about a plot. A plot that has been fallen by the way side due to mass hypnosis and indoctrination from a very young age. Something that seems absolutely hysterical to the untrained mind.

A plot the company Dunkin' Donuts, Ice Spice, and yes, even Ben Affleck are in on.

“What consumerism really is, at its worst is getting people to buy things that don’t actually improve their lives.” - Jeff Bezos

It all started back in 1948 when Dunkin' Donuts opened under the name “Open Kettle” by founder Bill Rosenberg in Quincy Massachusetts.

Rosenberg conceived the idea after having noticed that construction workers loved coffee and doughnuts, and decided to move forward in 1950 with the name Dunkin' Donuts.

This name change was the first step of many to social engineer the masses into falling in love with the idea of doughnuts and coffee.

Fast Forward to late 2023 and Dunkin' Donuts has re-branded themselves as “Dunkin'” focusing more of their effort and energy into beverages, preparing them for one of the most ubiquitous campaigns of all time,

What is the Ice Spice drink you may ask? It is a frozen beverage with pumpkin “spice"flavored doughnut holes known as “munchkins”.

Dunkin' is using Ice Spice’s song “Munch” to promote the Munchkins brand. Ice Spice is okay with this because she is most likely getting paid to do this collaboration.

When Ice Spice fans listen to the song “Munch” now, they will associate the song with Dunkin' Donuts and Munchkins.

Let’s say you are an avid listener of Ice Spice’s music. You are headed on your way to work, and “Munch” comes on in rotation. You had no prior plans to purchase Dunkin' today, but as soon as that song begins to play, the prior programmed response will lead you to Dunkin' subconsciously.

Arguments will be made that this isn’t the case. That the person purchasing Dunkin' made that decision based upon there free-will.

My argument is that this does in fact happen. Not just in the case of Dunkin' and Ice Spice. That is just an example from many.

How about Ice Spice’s cursing? In reality, the people who do not curse, listen to music without curse words. The people who curse, listen to explicit music more often than not.

This is a common tactic made by music artists in the modern day. Different artists make “cultural” references to ensnare listeners. Quite frequently, these references are none other than advertisements.

The advertisements in these cases actually help the artists more than the company.

Lil Uzi Vert talks about Honda Accords in his work. I drive a Honda Accord, thus I bond with this rapper on a deeper level.

“We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested” - Edward Bernays

We can’t ignore causal factors. I recognize this within my psychology as when I listened to Lil Uzi Vert talk about Honda Accords, I found myself enjoying his music more.

Back to Dunkin'. When I was growing up, my family would bring munchkins to our swim meets. This is an example of the conditioning associated spending a good quality family time with eating Munchkins from Dunkin'. This held with me as just a few months ago I brought munchkins to a ski-trip hangout with friends.

Now, if the going gets tough or I am down on my luck, I can go to good old munchkin paradise, which will invoke those past feelings when I was spending time with family and friends.

The point is, companies and rappers exploit this part of our psychology. They will associate their brand with as many things the average American consumes, buys and supports.

The Solution:

The solution to this part is twofold. First, people must strip away as much advertising from there lives as possible. The social engineers of our society spend billions of dollars to make certain that you purchase certain goods and products. Along with that, these controllers are able to influence the way you think in other ways too. It isn’t just advertising which stands in your way, it is the news media, influencers and algorithms, streaming services and movies. The conceptual questions that should be asked are: why does a movie have certain themes? How could it apply to our own lives? What is this person trying to tell me? Is this a moral action? Is this person truly good? Instead of just enjoying a movie for comfort.

Once you become aware of how often you are advertised to, you won’t be able to stop the realization. It’s everywhere. It isn’t as simple as putting ad blocker on a computer. That is a great first step, and I would highly recommend that anyone watching use brave desktop browser. But, advertisements are plastered all over the road, embedded in movies, attached to the products you use. Take a moment and pause the video. I 100% guarantee you could find a brand within your eyesight.

Ultimately, it is up to you in the end to decide the future you want for yourself. Do you want to submit to the influence of others, or do you want to lead your own influence. The choice is yours.

-Aidan Hellrigel