Ben Affleck: “I’m Matt Damon”

We’re a few days away from the release of Ben Affleck’s Air which opens this coming weekend after a strong premiere at SXSW a few weeks ago and continues to generate positive reviews from critics, currently sitting at 98% on Rotten Tomatoes. Dunkin’ Donuts is now jumping in on the momentum, releasing a new commercial featuring Ben, following their Super Bowl ad in February. 

This time Ben’s not working the drive-thru but he’s stepping up to the counter as a customer which isn’t really a stretch of acting since, well, we all know Ben’s most significant romance might just be with Dunkin’. He’s doing a whole bit here about authenticity and meta and that’s definitely hitting on multiple levels because this is actually Ben – and I’m not talking necessarily about how often he goes to Dunkin’ but his whole energy here. This man is an overtalker! He can’t stop talking! If you’ve been paying attention to all of the press he’s been doing for Air – on television, on podcasts, on panels – he just keeps going and going and going. Ben Affleck has a LOT to say. Even when he’s ordering a coffee and a donut with his Boston accent and getting mistaken for Matt Damon. You can hear it hard when he says “The Departed”. 

As mentioned back when the Super Bowl ad came out, this isn’t just a straight ambassadorship for Ben, it’s also a production deal. Because he’s starring in the Dunkin’ commercials but also producing them through Artists’ Equity. That’s the kind of commercial financing he and Matt are using to balance out their Hollywood creative efforts. We’ll see this weekend whether or not Air can deliver for them at the box office. 

Here's Ben yesterday in Santa Monica with Emme, looking like they’re having a great time together. They apparently did some shopping at a used bookstore which was one of the first signs, when he and Jennifer Lopez first got back together, that he and her children were bonding. Books are what Ben and Emme have in common, and it’s clear that they’re close, because I don’t care how cynical you are about celebrities and publicity stunts – teenagers are teenagers, and if a teenager isn’t in the mood, there is nothing you can do to get them to do what you want them to do.