How a tea drinking Englishman came up with 'America runs on Dunkin': PART 3 - The Return

Would an American have ever come up with ‘America runs on Dunkin’?

Or, for that specific line, did it have to be a foreigner?

Someone from the US would perhaps have started the phrase with ‘we’, or ended it with ‘us’.

Or, if staying in the third person, referred to it as ‘The US…’ or ‘The States…’ rather than ‘America…’

But I specifically meant ‘America’, much the same way, I think, that Paul Simon meant ‘America’ in the eponymous song.

Not so much as a geographic region or a nation state, but as a defining essence or spirit.

‘America’ as the shared belief in optimism, energy and the drive to keep moving forward.

I later learned of the existence of a tagline best practice rule - three, maximum four words, one of which should be the brand name.

But I stumbled upon the formula that day by chance - it had to be ‘America’ but then the rest just rolled off the tongue, and sounded pleasing.

A few years after the slogan’s launch, I found myself back in Boston visiting friends.

And having, somewhat ironically, now caught the caffeine bug back living in the UK, I naturally decided to start my day at Dunkin’.

It was after the morning rush was over and I found myself the only one there.

So after ordering my cappuccino, my eyes drifted to the posters on the wall and the cups on the counter.

And whether overcome by some powerful nostalgia, compelled by a yearning to reconnect or simply uncomfortable with the silence, it just came out.

‘That line, ‘America runs on Dunkin’… that was me, I wrote that’.

Instant mortification.

Why on earth had I volunteered that?

How crazy would the guy busy making my coffee think me to be?

So all the things he might say on turning back around raced through my mind.

‘That’ll be three dollars and fifty cents’.

But of course.

No time for small talk.

We’ve got a country to keep running…