Is the Good Will Dunkin’ Super Bowl commercial AI-generated? We explore the de-aging tech used on Ben Affleck, Jason Alexander’s CGI reveal, and the AI debate.
Super Bowl ad fever has reached its peak, and now we’re all nursing the hangover. Now that the Big Game is behind us, we have the time to analyze what happened more calmly, identify the winners, and get a feel for the trending topics of the moment. Among the most discussed and replayed spots, one stands out as a Super Bowl advertising classic: the latest hilarious Dunkin’ commercial featuring Ben Affleck.
This time, Dunkin’ went all out. They staged a parody of a classic ’90s sitcom, bringing in iconic faces from the television shows we loved as kids. The full cast of the Dunkin’ commercial is spectacular: besides Ben Affleck as the young genius ‘Good Will Dunkin’, we have Friends stars Jennifer Aniston and Matt LeBlanc, Jaleel White (the legendary Steve Urkel from Family Matters), Alfonso Ribeiro (Carlton from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), Jasmine Guy (Whitley from A Different World), Ted Danson (Sam Malone from Cheers), and Jason Alexander (Seinfeld’s George Costanza). At the end, a rejuvenated Tom Brady even makes an appearance—because, well, Tom Brady is always the icing on the cake in a Super Bowl commercial.
The most common question, of course, concerns the de-aging of the actors. Every star looks effectively 30 years younger, sporting ’90s-era hair and facial expressions perfectly suited to vintage sitcoms. This has led the public to wonder: is this all the work of AI, and how much were the real actors actually involved? These are the same questions we asked ourselves during Xfinity’s ‘Jurassic Park Works’ commercial.
And once again, the truth might surprise you. Discover it with us.
The Dunkin’ Commercial and the De-aging Process: Was it All AI?
Take a close look at the faces of the actors involved. Zero wrinkles, slow facial movements, teased hair… it’s glaringly obvious from the first second: the actors don’t look like this today.
The rejuvenation effect is so intense that many viewers suspected the entire commercial was produced by AI, without any real involvement from the actors. It feels like a purely digital product created from scratch, fueling the ongoing debate about whether artificial intelligence will completely replace humans in the modern world.
The truth, however, is that the “Good Will Dunkin'” commercial was actually shot on film using real actors—exactly as was done with the “Jurassic Park Works” commercial. While a “behind-the-scenes” video hasn’t been released in this case, one of the stars, Jason Alexander, confirmed everyone was indeed on set during this interview with Esquire:
“It was comfortable. The minute we got together, there was that familiarity. I wondered, ‘Is there a pecking order? Is it going to be weird?’ Not at all. It’s like the Little Rascals showed up. I kind of clocked that shared experiences, even though not the same experiences, can be bonding.
They added hair pieces that resemble, I’ll laughably say, my hairline in the ’90s. It was close, and I figured they’ll nail it when they CGI it. That was never my hair. But I look younger. God bless them, they got me back to my thirties.”
Jason Alexander describes the experience of filming Dunkin’s 2026 Super Bowl commercial
Every actor was physically present on set, wearing wigs and costumes characteristic of ’90s sitcoms. Following the shoot, the de-aging was achieved through the use of CGI.
Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI) processes involve using advanced software to alter footage captured on camera. For de-aging techniques, much modern software utilizes machine learning—so yes, essentially AI—to achieve more precise results. However, the starting point was still the scene filmed on set. This is a practice Hollywood has used for some time without scandal, as seen in Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman.
The Era of De-aging: AI as a Tool, Not a Substitute
The trend emerging from Super Bowl 2026 is unmistakable: nostalgia is one of the primary engines of modern advertising. Today’s 30-to-40-somethings remain fascinated by seeing what they loved as children; meanwhile, younger generations are struck by curiosity, embarking on a rediscovery of what was popular before they were born. This explains the internet popularity of the Good Will Dunkin’ and Jurassic Park Works commercials, as well as the Instacart spot with its familiar, infectious disco atmosphere.
This phenomenon marks a fundamental evolution in the AI debate. We are far from the days when AI-generated videos circulated online as mere grotesque curiosities, often ridiculed for their inability to capture the complexity of human expression or for those anatomical errors that made the results unsettling. While decades haven’t passed, AI’s role in daily life is now integrating in a more useful and effective way.
Today, the entertainment industry is finding a “third way.” AI is no longer used—at least in these high-level contexts—to replace the actor, but as an incredibly sophisticated digital chisel. As Jason Alexander confirmed, the starting point remains human: their physical presence on set, their acting, and even traditional makeup. Technology only steps in during the refining phase, acting as an invisible partner that “cleans up” the signs of time, allowing us to travel through history without sacrificing the soul of the performance.
In this sense, de-aging represents the new standard for nostalgic storytelling. It isn’t “AI slop” created by a lonely algorithm, but a work of digital craftsmanship where the machine enhances the director’s vision. However, public doubt remains a vital sign: that typical feeling that there is “something not quite right” in what we are watching is proof that, no matter how much technology progresses, we continue to seek and demand that human warmth only a flesh-and-blood actor can convey. Even if they have a few more (digital) hairs.
