A new social media star has entered the chat — and it has frosting for eyes and legs.
On Oct. 21, Dunkin’ introduced a new character on X, Instagram and TikTok: the Spider Donut.
The specialty treat from its Halloween menu is a doughnut with purple frosting, topped with a glazed chocolate Munchkins Donut Hole Treat, chocolate drizzle spider legs and white frosting eyes — and it’s now complete with a personality.
“come here,” beckons the Spider Donut in its first Instagram post. A photo gallery features the doughnut slowly approaching the viewer as it makes coy comments and finally asserts its dominance in the last slide: “im in charge now.”
The Spider Donut has quickly established itself as both confident and coquettish as it searches for someone to hold on to this cuffing season.
The Scene
“ive got the long legs all i need is the dadddddy,” reads another post featuring the the Spider Donut with two fingers touching, an emoji combination that conveys coyness.
The Spider Donut has taken over Dunkin’s social media channels with playful jokes, meme-fodder and a tongue-in-cheek TikTok fancam of the item soundtracked by Usher’s “Hey Daddy (Daddy’s Home).”
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. >Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
General public opinion on the Spider Donut has been overwhemingly positive, with social media users applauding the character — and the minds behind it.
“Dunkin being iconic as usual,” wrote one X user. A TikTok user agreed, writing, “This is grade A marketing.”
“I need to know which feral gen z is doing this marketing,” commented one Instagram user.
Another Instagram user echoed this sentiment, commenting, “need to know who is in charge of this account 😂😂😂❤️,” and Dunkin’ replied, “it mi — spidey d.”
All of the Spider Donut’s messages to its public are written in an all-lowercase, intentionally-misspelled style that brings to mind the social media stylings of another purple pal: Grimace.
In 2023, Grimace took over McDonald’s socials for his birthday, using similarly nonchalant and lowercase language in his posts.
Other brands have been going viral for the unique ways they attract attention on the internet.
Wendy’s has consistently garnered internet praise for its acerbic social media presence, as it jokingly disparages the competition, especially on National Roast Day, a holiday it invented.
In September, Nutter Butter also went viral for its unhinged and spooky TikTok account, serving a side of conspiracy and light horror with its peanut butter cookies.
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY: