Dunkin' Donuts has recently been at the center of an internet storm, with “Boycott Dunkin' Donuts” trending on Social Media X (formerly Twitter), ranking first in the food category.
Dunkin' Donuts is a global coffee and donut chain headquartered in the U.S. Calls for a boycott began in the U.S. and quickly gained momentum.
The hashtag was trending on Wednesday and was widely used. Both those in favor of the boycott and those against it were using it. So what caused the frenzy? Let's take a look at what sparked the call for a boycott.
Reasons to boycott Dunkin' Donuts
The boycott of Dunkin' Donuts started after the COO of Rumble, a video sharing platform, shared a tweet. Chris Pavlovski is the founder and CEO of Rumble. Chris Pavlovski reached out to Dunkin' Donuts for advertising on Rumble. He shared a portion of an image that appears to be an email response from Dunkin' Donuts.
He claimed that Dunkin' Donuts does not want to advertise on Rumble as long as Steven Crowder is part of the platform. He further stated that Dunkin' Donuts has stated that it does not want to be part of a right-wing platform. Dunkin' Donuts feels that the platform is too polarizing and it is unsustainable for the brand.
Dunkin' Donuts further stated that they would like to continue the conversation as Rumble continues to evolve. Dunkin' Donuts has implied that they do not want Steven Crowder's podcast to continue on Rumble. Chris Pavlovski responded to Dunkin' Donuts by saying that Rumble does not discriminate and welcomes all cultures.
How did the Dunkin' Donuts boycott begin?
Chris Pavlovsky's tweet got on his nerves with his supporters. One of his supporters responded to Chris Pavlovsky's tweet. He is Mr. Catard, a well-known American conservative advocate. He has over 2.7 million supporters on X. He tweeted multiple times after Pavlovsky's tweet saying that enough is enough. He said, “These woke corporations think they have the power over us.” He called for a boycott of Dunkin' Donuts.
Rumble supporters and MAGA influencers picked up on the hashtag. It gained traction and quickly trended at number one. The hashtag trended for two days, then lost steam. “Dunkin' Donuts, I know you,” Catard tweeted, “I'll never pay you a cent again,” suggesting that Dunkin' Donuts may have played a role in keeping #BoycottdunkinDonuts from trending.
Dunkin' Donuts boycott supporters
After Cataldo called for a boycott of Dunkin' Donuts, his supporters began tweeting, among other things:
“Let's boycott them. We have to be united.”
“It's time to treat Dunkin' Donuts like Bud Light. You'll wake up bankrupt.”
“It's horrible. Why are we treating right-wingers like they're a virus that should be avoided?”
MAGA influencers exert their influence
MAGA influencers supported calls to boycott Dunkin' Donuts and, earlier, Bud Light. The beer brand collaborated with transgender social media influencers to promote the contest. The strategy backfired, with many conservatives calling for a boycott of the brand. The brand suffered losses and dropped from first to third place. A year after the controversy, it's still trying to recover.
This is a huge loss for the brand, as it shows that MAGA influencers have enough influence to cause considerable damage to the brand's business, and their support for the boycott against Dunkin' Donuts could have far-reaching consequences.
Who is Steven Crowder?
The boycott of Dunkin' Donuts began after Dunkin' Donuts opposed Steven Crowder of Rumble. Steven Crowder is a conservative political commentator. He hosts the podcast “Louder with Crowder” on Rumble. He moved from YouTube to Rumble after running into issues with the company. His channel was repeatedly demonetized. He faced suspension for violating the platform's community guidelines.
He moved to Rumble. His podcast is now the number one conservative show on Rumble. Chris Pavlovski said that Dunkin' Donuts does not want to partner with Rumble as long as Steven Crowder is on the platform. Chris Pavlovski said that his platform does not discriminate. Everyone is welcome, regardless of political leanings.
Dunkin' Donuts Boycott, Politics and Society
The recent trend of boycotting Dunkin' Donuts highlights the difficult situation in society today.
Society is fragmenting into different groups with different political, social, personal and moral identities. This can be a tough landscape for brands to navigate: campaigns supporting one point of view often end up alienating others.
Recently, many brands have faced problems because of this. Pepsi, Adidas, Starbucks, Bud Light, the list goes on and on. Some brands like Pepsi quickly recovered their losses while others like Bud Light are struggling. It is a tightrope walk for brands to survive in this social framework. They have to tread carefully. Dunkin Donuts was also caught up in a similar controversy. It remains to be seen how it will affect their bottom line.
summary
The recent trend #BoycottDunkin Donuts highlights the marketing challenges for brands today. The controversy erupted when Chris Pavlovsky shared a screenshot of an email he received from Dunkin' Donuts in response to a request to advertise on Pavlovsky's platform, Rumble. According to Pavlovsky, Dunkin' Donuts did not want to advertise on Rumble.
The decision was made due to the presence of conservative celebrities such as Steven Crowder on his platform. Dunkin' Donuts felt that it was not sustainable for their brand image to be associated with conservatives. This caused a huge uproar. Conservatives no longer wanted to support Dunkin' Donuts after this. Prominent conservative influencer Kahtat called for a boycott of the company, which quickly became a trend.
