When Dunkin’ debuted its Super Bowl commercial, viewers didn’t just clock the nostalgic cameos and the coffee—they clocked the hair.
When Jennifer Aniston appeared on screen, her style instantly sparked déjà vu—in the best way. The bounce, the movement the face-framing shape all nodded to “The Rachel,” courtesy of her longtime hairstylist and the inventor of the now-famous Friends-era cut, Chris McMillan.
“We kept it very Jen,” he exclusively shared with us, while divulging some of the beauty notes. “The goal was that effortless, bouncy, lived-in blowout people associate with her. Bobby pins were key for shaping the part and guiding the style into that classic Rachel direction without making it feel like a costume.”
McMillan says he was immediately on board when he heard the idea for the ad.
“When I heard the concept, I loved it. It felt playful and self-aware. Jen has a great sense of humor about her legacy, which makes moments like this fun, instead of forced.”
And when he saw it on T.V., he knew the strands were solid: “Seeing it air was surreal. It hit that balance of nostalgic and modern, which is exactly what you want with a Rachel reference.”
That balance—nostalgic yet modern—is what made the moment land. And as with every iconic Aniston hair chapter, being in-sync was key.
“Jen is very collaborative,” McMillan says. “She wants it to look good and feel real.”
In just a few seconds of screen time, the commercial delivered a reminder: “The Rachel” isn’t a costume or a relic. In McMillan’s hands, it’s an evolving signature—effortless, self-aware and still entirely “Jen.”
