*RARE* 1999 Dunkin' Donuts Star Wars Commercial "Darth Donut"  | READ DESCRIPTION!!
Channel: Tommy Salommy
Date: 2023-08-19

While cleaning my Dad's attic, I found a box labeled with permanent marker reading "Darth Donut". I found it fascinating - I certainly didn't remember it from my childhood - so I brought it downstairs to have my Dad take a look at it. When he saw the box, he tried not to react, but his eyes betrayed a feeling of nostalgia, wistfulness, and loss. I asked him about the contents of the box, and after a moment's hesitation, he told me to sit down for a story. My Dad and I were never very close, so not wanting to pass up this opportunity to connect, I sat down and listened.

Apparently, my Dad was a marketer for Dunkin' Donuts in the late 90s, and a huge Star Wars nerd (something I had never known about him). In late 1998, when the first trailers were playing for The Phantom Menace, he had a brilliant idea: reach out to Lucasfilm to make a set of Star Wars/Dunkin' crossover commercials. To his surprise and delight, they agreed. Since the marketing department was not the behemoth it is today, my Dad was put in charge of writing, directing, and basically everything else for the project. Funding was low - he even went out-of-pocket to pay for some of the costumes - but he knew it would be worth it in the end. He had his marketing team completely sold on the idea, getting them to play characters in the commercials, including Luke Sconecruncher, Bun Solo, and Onli-Wan Kannoli (the names were purposely terrible, so he tells me). Since actors were hard to come by, my Dad himself played three characters: Emperor Palpacream (who appears in other commercials), the manager in this video, and the focal point of the series: Darth Donut (if you notice any resemblance of these characters to me, that's why!). Needless to say, it was a passion project for all involved, but especially my Dad. When production finished, they were thrilled; thinking they had made the perfect advertisement, combining a beloved franchise with America's favorite donut chain.

Unfortunately, upon release, the reception was terrible. The commercial was panned by critics, activists, and even higher ups from both companies involved. Critics found the humor too low-brow, even for a commercial meant for mass appeal. Activists in the fat acceptance movement slammed the commercial for its insensitivity in "making an obese Darth Vader the (planet-sized) butt of the joke" (Dreibowitz, Susan. "Darth Donut Commercials Send Clear Message: Don't Eat at Dunkin'" People Magazine, 20 Mar. 1999, pp. 70-71.) Higher-ups in the Dunkin' marketing department were appalled at the depiction of their customers as fat oafs, and Lucasfilm was furious that beloved Star Wars characters were being depicted in a pathetic light, especially the usually-intimidating Darth Vader. Somehow, there was a bureaucracy oversight that allowed the commercials to slip under the radar and gain approval, despite being clearly hated by both companies. New policies were put in place, and people were fired. One such person was my Dad.

After the backlash, Dunkin' and Lucasfilm execs did everything possible to erase the commercials from existence. If you thought they went out of their way to eradicate the Star Wars Christmas Special, you'd be shocked at their persistence to do away with any trace of Darth Donut. They retrieved and destroyed all existing tapes, and stopped airing the commercials on cable. But there was one set of copies that they didn't know about. After production finished in early 1999, my Dad had saved a set in his attic, which everyone (including himself) forgot about. That set was in the box that sat on the table before us.

When he finished his story, my Dad told me he was tired and needed to go to his room. Seeing the glazed (no pun intended) eyes of a man who is usually tough-as-nails, I knew I should just let him retire for the night... but I had one more question. As he walked down the hall, I asked what I should do with the videotapes. His response: "Throw them out, nobody ever liked 'em anyway".

But I didn't throw them out. Instead, I took them home, brought out my old VHS player, and watched them all. As I did, I became more and more confused on why these commercials were so hated. My Dad and his team clearly put a lot of work into these projects, and in my opinion, they were hilarious! But then again, maybe that's just cause I'm not used to seeing my Dad do something so silly. So I wanted to post the commercials here on YouTube for the masses to finally judge for themselves. This first tape had "DD1" on the label, so I assume it was meant as an introduction for the character of Darth Donut. I plan to upload all of the commercials eventually, but some of them need heavy restoration. Please leave a like, because I hope to eventually show this to my Dad to prove that there are people in the world who love his work. If you've read this far, thank you!