Dunkin’ Teams Up With Rapper Jelly Roll for National Doughnut Day

While many chains are celebrating National Doughnut Day, perhaps no business has its foot on the gas quite like Dunkin’. The brand has already announced that on Friday, June 7, customers can score a free classic donut with the purchase of any beverage. Now, on the eve of this sacred holiday, Dunkin’ has unveiled a new line of donut-centric merch in its online store, and it has teamed up with singer and rapper Jelly Roll to promote these National Doughnut Day releases.

Jelly Roll, winner of three CMT Music Awards in 2023 including Male Breakthrough Video of the Year for “Son of a Sinner,” is all charisma in his Dunkin’ promotional video. He winks at the camera and demonstrates his favorite doughnut-dunking techniques, biting into a jelly doughnut and explaining that his childhood love for the treat is why his mom nicknamed him Jelly Roll in the first place. 

“My mom used to tell me I’m so sweet, I could open up my own Dunkin’,” says Jelly Roll before walking viewers through the various styles of Dunkin’ doughnuts and even showing off his dog on camera. It’s a simple video, one aimed at reminding everyone that “life’s better with a little jelly in it.” 

Speaking of jelly, doughnuts (and their fillings) are the theme of the new merch drop at ShopDunkin.com in celebration of National Doughnut Day. The apparel includes a bright pink hoodie with the word “JELLY” in bubbly white Dunkin’ font ($40); a white hoodie reading “GRAB ME A GLAZED” ($40); and two different T-shirts featuring pictures of doughnuts stylized to look like concert tees ($30 each). 

And this is all in addition to the other Dunkin’ collaboration announced this week: a partnership with dish scrubber brand Scrub Daddy to create doughnut-shaped sponges, available for purchase on the Scrub Daddy website. The design is aimed at “making household chores a bit more cheerful,” according to a press release. 

So, for anyone keeping track: Dunkin’ has announced a free doughnut giveaway, debuted a Jelly Roll video dedicated to donut-dunking techniques, released a new line of merch, and partnered with a leading dish-scrubber brand. That’s a lot of National Doughnut Day promotion in the books. 

This isn’t the first time that Dunkin’ has aligned with a celebrity largely on the basis of their name, by the way. Last fall, the brand partnered with rapper Ice Spice to release the pumpkin spice-flavored Ice Spice Munchkins Drink, featuring actual Munchkins doughnut holes blended into the iced beverage. If any other up-and-coming musical acts are aiming for a Dunkin’ sponsorship deal, they should consider changing their name to Snackin’ Bacon.