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Strategy

New Sneakers Let You Run on Dunkin'

America runs on Dunkin’. Now, that familiar slogan has become literal as well as figurative. The coffee and donut giant has teamed up with running shoe company Saucony to release a sugary sweet pair of sneakers, in honor of the 2018 Boston Marathon.

The Saucony x Dunkin’ Donuts Kinvara 9 sneaker features a distinctive orange and pink ombré sole, pink glazed doughnuts arching over the heel and a spray of orange and pink sprinkles across the sides. That takes care of the sweet side. Now for the caffeine-boost: The Saucony logo is decorated with a coffee-bean print, and the insoles feature dynamic images of coffee – hot or iced – splashing out of a Dunkin’ Donuts cup. Three sets of laces – black, orange and magenta – let the wearer customize their look.

The shoes come in custom packaging that resembles an actual box of Dunkin’ Donuts. They'll be available in women’s sizes 5-12 and men’s 7-15, retailing for $110 on Saucony’s website.

As you can imagine, the branding stunt has garnered its fair share of snark on social media.

But there seem to be just as many people expressing unreserved excitement for the shoes.

Dunkin’ Donuts is following in the footsteps of a number of venerable brands churning out mouth-watering kicks. Pizza Hut created “Pie Tops” that let you order pizza and pause your TV by pressing a button on the shoes. In the past, Whataburger has collaborated on custom Air Jordans and Adidas Kicks, and White Castle showed off branded Vans.

The connection between Dunkin’ Donuts and Boston is strong. The fast-food chain is based in Canton, MA, part of Greater Boston. So, perhaps a tie-in with the world-renowned Boston Marathon (which boasted more than 27,000 runners last year) is not as unconventional as it would first appear. It's a pretty good bet that when this year's race kicks off April 16, more than a few of the participants will be running on Dunkin’ in every sense of the phrase.