Dunkin’ Donuts commercial

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I too think that ad is in very poor taste in my opinion and the singer doesn't even sound close to Karen ( she may not even be really singing either and she's just an actress with similar looks) unfortunately we see a lot of these kind of ads more than ever it's really sad in my opinion
 
When I first saw the commercial, I thought the girl looked a lot like Karen, but on second glance I see a striking resemblance to Patti Smith as well. And since the voices are obviously modeled after Peaches and Herb, we have a real smorgasbord of '70's cliches at work here. Picking out just one is really missing the point.



Dan
 
I didn't really get the impression of Richard or Karen. The male was reminding me of Sonny Bono and the female I was thinking more Tennille from "The Captain and Tennile" or Olivia Newton-John from "Grease".
 
I don`t understand why people see what isn't there! I love Karen like everyone on here, but I don`t find that offensive at all. if I took offense every-time I saw a video on YouTube and the comments say `sounds like Karen carpenter`, I`d never go on YouTube again :)
 
Well, and the fact that there is a Wurlitzer electric piano in the background adds to the effect.
 
newvillefan said:
Looks nothing like Karen, there’s no reference to the Carpenters so I’m puzzled as to the link?
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There's no reference to the Carpenters in it. It's just that people thought she resembled Karen. I suppose since the music and style of the ad is 70's, many assumed that choosing an actress that looked like Karen was intentional. I was really surprised to read how many comments on youtube and Facebook were saying they were offended and called the ad in bad taste. Glad to read that others here are not taking the ad so seriously. When I saw it I thought it was harmless and kind of cute. Even if Dunkin' chose someone they thought looked like Karen, I highly doubt it was done with the intention of making fun of her or as a comment on her eating disorder. It just shows how much of the public out there still associate Karen with her issues and death first, instead of her legacy as a star in pop music. It's sad.
 
Chris said:
It just shows how much of the public out there still associate Karen with her issues and death first, instead of her legacy as a star in pop music. It's sad.
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Richard has also said pretty much the same thing in the past.
 
The male singer bears no resemblance to Richard. If he did<, I'd be more likely to think of Karen and not just some 70s pop duo.
 
If anything, it shows how much the Carpenters reflection on the 70’s took hold to music of the era. However, I feel the commercial shows a generic feel of 70’s music and in no way is affiliated with Karen. If anything it is a similarity of duos who were popular in the mid 70’s who can be almost anyone from Peaches and Herb to Billy Davis Jr and Marilyn McCoo to the Captain and Tenille or a Bee Gee duet with Tenille. I think Karen was correct when she said something in an interview that we started it all. Actually, I feel that the sugar effect from the Archies and the Poppy Family started the wave but the Carpenters surely popularized it and gave it credibility as serious musicians who could perform anything. I think the commercial should be celebrated. I admire that Karen’s talent is celebrated and has shed a light upon the music of the decade but it goes to show that political correctness has taken hold of the 70’s.
 
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That definitely looks like Karen. Don't tell me the marketing executives didn't see the physical resemblance, or that they don't know her story.

They could have chosen from hundreds of other singers / actresses to play the part.

Poor taste in my opinion.
 
I don't see this Karen lookalike either. Karen never even had that kind of hair, it doesn't look much like her facially at all, and that guy is no Richard doppelgänger. It's 70s looking and has a male and female singing together which for many, in association with food, brings to mind images of the duo I guess. But come on. There's no connection there. As small and insignificant as this ad is its a microcosm for just how much people are going out of their way to get mad at something in 2019, to have a voice, stake a claim over "fighting" for something/someone when the link is highly tentative. I'm as left as can be, but that doesn't mean PC hasn't been blown wildly out of proportion sometimes. I think it's good that people have their hearts in the right place, but when their head is in the wrong place even for an ad like this, in accumulates within the culture to something like a aimless gathering storm.
 
Hair or not, you cannot deny the basic facial similarity to Karen.

KarenDunkin.jpg

I have no problem with the commercial whatsoever.
 
I don’t either. I just started the thread because I had seen it on Facebook and hadn’t seen anything on here.

@Harry this is the same set of pics I used on fb to share with friends. There is a definite likeness.
 
One thing for sure, Dunkin Donuts has their own issues. From my own experience: some of their product taste wonderful but their product line is not well excuted and their customer service is borderline. It may be the times. When I was in college they were great, but now, even though they look better, all measurement factors for a successful business are not evident. So their marketing plan and business decisions will tell their future: already written on the wall. Do I hear Sears and Radio Shack blown in the wind?
 
Well, like Frasier said once regarding Niles and Lillith sleeping together, "We have certainly analyzed the crap out of this." It is a commercial. It is an attempt to recall 1970s icons in an attempt to sell donuts, and it will probably be successful in doing that.

The commercial also did something very cathartic for me...it stopped my urge to put my fist through the speakers every time I heard a Carpenters song. Karen's death made me mad...madder than Hell. I felt helpless that my goddess was gone, and that she basically did it to herself. There was nothing that anyone could do to save her, she had to do it herself; and it didn't work out. No more cute little girl, no more silky voice, nuthin'! She made me want to protect what was left of her because I felt guilty that she was gone...maybe I expected too much from her, I don't know. Richard's personality always turned me off, he always seemed to take the entire career they had as some kind of a joke, making fun of it all; and I always thought that he rode Karen pretty hard(other artists that knew them felt the same way). There was a tremendous amount of pressure from their mother to be perfect children, and that didn't help matters either; but the bottom line was that Karen was mentally ill. She may have been a musical genius, but she was also, well...mentally ill. I'm sorry, but it's true, and nothing will ever change that.

The commercial, for me, brought out the fact that in spite of all the tragedy, Karen was indeed a pop icon. She died young from her demons, but so did Elvis. So did a lot of other artists. Sometimes that's the way it goes. But, she deserves to be remembered; not just for her tragic end, but for her musical accomplishments. And for once, I can agree with Richard...it's sad that she often isn't.

And it's also sad that so many of her fans hold her in some kind of princess-style reverie. She was a human being, tragically flawed, but extremely talented and she touched many lives, including mine...but she never was a princess, so she doesn't need the cadre of consorts she seems to attract. Please stop idolizing her and trying to protect her from the outside world. If her memory and legacy is truly to live on, and it richly deserves to, there will have to be more instances of her likeness being displayed commercially like it was in the D&D commercial. Did any of you stop to think that there might just be a spike in Carpenters media sales as a result of this? Maybe some new fans will emerge; maybe some new blood will appear here at the Forum.

I don't know about some of you, but I'm ready to appreciate the Carpenters again...I will not see Karen as some kind of angel, just a wonderful talent with a beautiful voice. Not a tragic waif, but a musical icon. I'm tired of harboring all the mixed feelings I've carried around over the years regarding her life and the way she lived it. It's time I let go of that. I'm too old for this crap.



Dan
 
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