{"id":108918,"date":"2025-08-01T00:44:15","date_gmt":"2025-08-01T00:44:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/108918\/"},"modified":"2025-08-01T00:44:15","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T00:44:15","slug":"dunkin-ad-with-the-summer-i-turned-pretty-star-draws-backlash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/108918\/","title":{"rendered":"Dunkin&#8217; ad with &#8216;The Summer I Turned Pretty&#8217; star draws backlash"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"a-term a-term--primary\" href=\"https:\/\/www.boston.com\/tag\/local-news\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLocal News\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t&#8220;The Summer I Turned Pretty&#8221; actor Gavin Casalegno touts his &#8220;genetics&#8221; for a &#8220;golden summer&#8221; tan.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"768\" height=\"432\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/DUNKINxGavin07-688bcc6f16aa5-768x432.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-16:9 size-16:9 wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\"  \/><br \/>\n\tIn this photo released on July 29, 2025, Gavin Casalegno shoots for DUNKIN\u2019s Golden Hour Refresher, where he\u2019s crowned \u201cKing of Summer.\u201d Photo: Sara Jaye Weiss\/Getty Images for DUNKIN&#8217;\t<\/p>\n<p class=\"m-article-header__author\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBy <a class=\"a-link a-link--inline\" href=\"https:\/\/www.boston.com\/author\/annie-jonas\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Annie Jonas<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJuly 31, 2025 | 4:40 PM\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>2 minutes to read<\/p>\n<p>Dunkin\u2019 introduced a new drink to its menu Tuesday with an ad starring \u201cThe Summer I Turned Pretty\u201d actor Gavin Casalegno \u2014 and it\u2019s already causing a stir online. <\/p>\n<p>In the 35-second video promoting the <a href=\"https:\/\/news.dunkindonuts.com\/news\/summer-2025-4\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Golden Hour Refresher<\/a>, Casalegno delivers a tongue-in-cheek monologue about his role as the \u201cKing of Summer.\u201d \u201cLook, I didn\u2019t ask to be the King of Summer, it just kinda happened. This tan? Genetics,\u201d he says in the clip. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>The Dunkin\u2019 ad released just days following American Eagle\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.boston.com\/uncategorized\/celebs\/2025\/07\/28\/how-american-eagles-sydney-sweeney-good-jeans-ad-went-wrong\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">\u201cSydney Sweeney has great jeans\u201d<\/a> campaign showcasing the actress\u2019 physical traits. \u201cGenes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color. My genes are blue,\u201d Sweeney says in the video. <\/p>\n<ul class=\"t-amp__list a-list--no-style m-article-list m-article-list--recirculation m-article-list--has-images \">\n<li class=\"m-article-list__item \">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"m-article-list__link-wrapper\" href=\"https:\/\/www.boston.com\/uncategorized\/celebs\/2025\/07\/28\/how-american-eagles-sydney-sweeney-good-jeans-ad-went-wrong\/?p1=article_recirc_inline_feature\" data-p1=\"article_recirc_inline_feature\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"432\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ss2-6888151f802c7-768x432.jpg\" class=\"t-amp__list-image m-article-list__image \" alt=\"Sydney Sweeney stars in American Eagle\u2019s latest campaign.\" aria-hidden=\"true\"  \/>\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHow American Eagle\u2019s Sydney Sweeney \u2018good jeans\u2019 ad went wrong\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Both American Eagle and Dunkin\u2019 ad campaigns have sparked online debate as social media users are accusing the brands of promoting Eurocentric beauty standards, and even echoing themes of eugenics.<\/p>\n<p>In the Dunkin\u2019 ad, Casalegno playfully mentions his color analysis, a process that aims to help individuals find colors that best suit their skin tone. In the clip he says, \u201cI just got my color analysis back. Guess what? Golden summer, literally!\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Seated by a pool and holding a Golden Hour Refresher, he remarks, \u201cI can\u2019t help it \u2014 every time I drink a Golden Hour Refresher, it\u2019s like the sun just finds me.\u201d The actor acknowledges his self-appointed title with a casual, \u201cSo if sipping these refreshers makes me the King of Summer? Guilty as charged.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While there\u2019s no wordplay on \u201cgenes\u201d in the Dunkin\u2019 ad, many viewers commented on the timing of the video releasing soon after AE\u2019s provocative campaign, and its use of \u201cgenetics.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy are ads so obsessed with genetics all of a sudden?\u201d asked one TikTok user. Many drew connections to the \u201cEuphoria\u201d actress\u2019 video.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat in the Sydney Sweeney did I just watch,\u201d another Tik Tok user said of the Dunkin\u2019 ad.<\/p>\n<p>As of this writing, the Dunkin\u2019 video has garnered <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@dunkin\/video\/7532489177485659423\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">1.8 million views<\/a> on its TikTok page.<\/p>\n<p>Many on social media were quick to point out what they saw as an unsettling trend in marketing, alleging its racist undertones. Some even voiced plans to boycott Dunkin\u2019 entirely.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ll never have Dunkin\u2019 Donuts again,\u201d one TikTok user vowed. \u201cThis ad is super effective in making sure I\u2019m never going to Dunkin again,\u201d another <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DMsUjsKMhvJ\/c\/18049430651542721\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Instagram user wrote<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>Dunkin\u2019 did not respond to Boston.com\u2019s request for comment. <\/p>\n<p><strong>We want to know:<\/strong> Brands have often used provocative advertising to cut through the noise and gain the attention of viewers. Do you think the Dunkin\u2019 ad went too far? Is it bad timing? Or do you think the backlash is overblown? Share your reactions with us in the form below or e-mail us at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.boston.com\/cdn-cgi\/l\/email-protection#fb989496968e95928f82bb9994888f9495d5989496c4c6bf8e95909295dec9cb9a9f\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">[email\u00a0protected]<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>\n                            How do you feel about Dunkin&#8217;s &#8220;Golden Hour Refresher&#8221; ad?<\/p>\n<p>\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/cropped-IMG_2875-671fb6f808237-671fb70325313.jpg\" alt=\"Profile image for Annie Jonas\"\/>\t<\/p>\n<p>Annie Jonas is a Community writer at Boston.com. She was previously a local editor at Patch and a freelancer at the Financial Times.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for the Today newsletter<\/p>\n<p class=\"m-generic-cta__subtitle\">Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"\/\/www.tiktok.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Local News &#8220;The Summer I Turned Pretty&#8221; actor Gavin Casalegno touts his &#8220;genetics&#8221; for a &#8220;golden summer&#8221; tan.&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":108919,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[815,159,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-108918","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-genetics","8":"tag-genetics","9":"tag-science","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114950744992872165","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108918"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108918\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}