The 1950s Dunkin' Logo Featured Its Long-Lost Mascot

By and large, life today is much better than it was in the 1950s. Technological and medical advances have meant that the quality of life has almost inarguably gone up. But we'll admit it! One thing that the 1950s has the 21st century beat on so far is the creativity and sheer adorableness of its brand mascots.

Dunkin' Donuts, now known simply as Dunkin', is iconic today for its bubbly pink and orange lettering, but the chain had a completely different name when it first started, and its logo has been through quite the evolution in its 75-year history. For example, did you know that back in the 1950s, the donut chain had a mascot? And that mascot was named Dunkie? And Dunkie was a winking, cartoon man made out of donuts and a teacup who was wearing a hat and a bowtie and was serving up a plate of donuts? That's right.

Despite the vaguely cannibalistic connotations of the guy, Dunkie repped Dunkin' Donuts from 1956 to 1960. Dunkie lent some real personality and joie de vivre to a brand that had until that point been defined by its charming yet understated script text logo. His tenure may have been short-lived, but his legacy lives on. By 1960, Dunkin' debuted its legendary pink color and a funky-fonted wordmark that was indicative of the changing style of the times and sent the donut chain rolling down its new path of logo-rific success. Of course, while Dunkie was the first Dunkin' mascot, he was far from the last.

While not an official mascot, when Fred the Baker (actor Michael Vale) popped up on people's TV screens in 1981 in Dunkin' commercials with his hat and funny mustache, he and his line, "Time to make the donuts!" became instant classics. Vale appeared in Dunkin' commercials for nearly two decades, until 1997.

After that, Dunkin ditched the mascot concept and marketing shifted to the "American Runs on Dunkin'" campaign, until Cuppy poured onto the scene and took up the mantle until this very day. Cuppy is — you guessed it — a human-sized hot cup with eyes and a perpetual smile (presumably because he's always filled with Dunkin' coffee). 

Would we have Cuppy if it wasn't for Dunkie? That may not be a question you ever thought you'd be asking, but here we are. There have been lots of great (and terrible!) food brand mascots, but starting with Dunkie, it was clear that Dunkin' had its finger on the pulse of what customers craved from their morning coffee and donut shop, and that instinct continues to this day.