Why Kahlúa have recruited raving grandparents

Kahlúa Coffee Cream is trying to drag cream liqueur out of the bedtime slot with Not A Nightcap, a new brand campaign from Wieden+Kennedy London that casts viral grandparents and turns a care home lounge into a rave.

Directed by Ciesay, the 30-second film stars Grimegran, Beau The Beard and Grandad Frank. Beau appears as a care worker making his evening rounds with the usual Irish cream, only to find residents have opened Kahlúa Coffee Cream and started their own party.

Putting older creators into a youth-coded nightlife setting also follows a wider creative shift around age, recently seen in Specsavers’ club guestlist for over-50s.

It also continues Kahlúa’s habit of disrupting familiar drinking rituals. Its previous Famous Campaigns appearance saw the brand create a Schneaky Espresso Martini glass designed to pass as a pint of stout on St Patrick’s Day.

“Who decided cream liqueur was exclusively for nightcaps? We certainly didn’t,” said Craig Van Niekerk, VP of Marketing at Kahlúa.

Wieden+Kennedy London’s Freddy Taylor and Phillippa Beaumont added: “The world of cream liqueurs has long been too sleepy.”

The campaign moves offline on 8 October with a BYOG, Bring Your Own Grandparent, club night at Number 90 in Hackney Wick, headlined by DJ Rossi. Guests who bring a grandparent, or someone else’s, get two free drinks. Tickets are available via Eventbrite.

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