By Blaine Kaniewski
The new face of Dunkin’ Donuts has arrived, and his name is Joe Russo. It all began on June 27, 2009 when Joe wanted to try his first iced coffee. The first sip of the French vanilla iced coffee with cream and sugar will be remembered forever. Russo says, “My life has changed since that moment, and even now, whenever I drink French vanilla, I don’t taste it as much as I did that day.”
Being a communications major helped this Bronx native to become involved in media, leading him to be aware of the lack of Dunkin’ representation throughout the media industry. Even though he is not an official spokesperson, Joe advertises on Twitter, Instagram and by wearing Dunkin’ Donuts paraphernalia often. Dunkin’ is even the first topic of choice Joe uses in conversation when he meets someone new. He says you rarely see him without a coffee cup in his hand.
His dream is to be in commercials, papers and on the radio, preaching about all Dunkin’ has to offer the world. Joe says he wants his “face in shining lights in Times Square.”
Keeping up with new coffee flavors and coupons is important in being a Dunkin’ public figure, and Joe keeps updated by reading the webpage daily. Joe is proud to say Dunkin’ follows him on Twitter, as well as tweets directly to him and retweeting him, making his dream of being the Dunkin’ Donuts spokesperson even more of a reality.
But, being the Dunkin’ spokesperson may not be as simple as it seems. Joe says Dunkin’ does not offer any internships. He even wrote them a letter about being an intern, but they never got back to him. But, that won’t discourage Joe from continuing his pursuit of being the star of Dunkin’ Donuts. “Hopefully I can bring Dunkin’ Donuts to the West Coast” Joe says, “those poor people are suffering.” But, according to Joe, Dunkin’ only has two establishments in California, and that can put a kink in his plans to successfully become the official Dunkin’ spokesperson. “It’s frustrating because I really want to get Dunkin’ out to Cali, but don’t want to leave Dunkin’ behind,” says Joe.
Joe has spent his time at Fordham working hard to gain experience in media through jobs and internships at broadcast stations including CBS. By putting himself out there, Russo says, “I’m better able to be taken seriously as a media spokesperson for Dunkin’ by already being seen in media corporations, and through connecting with Dunkin’ via the media.”
Due to his great love for Dunkin’, Joe is very anti-Starbucks. “I drank Starbucks before trying Dunkin’, and was never in love with it,” says Joe, “I just find the quality of the coffee isn’t up to par with the price and that really bugs me.”
In 10 years, Joe sees himself on TV, advertising for Dunkin’. He also recommends the iced coffee and pretzel twists for a snack. But, if that plan does not work, Russo says, “Ideally if I can’t be their spokesperson, I’d like to work for them and maybe work on a plan to expand them out to California and the West Coast.” Joe says he looks forward to graduation and pursuing his Dunkin’ dream. For now he says, “I’ll finish out my time here at Fordham the way I started, with a whole lot of Dunkin’ iced coffee.”
