Kahlúa turned a care home into a rave to prove Coffee Cream is not a nightcap

Cream liqueur is often treated as the final drink of the evening, poured after dinner shortly before everyone goes home. Kahlúa Coffee Cream wants to move the category into a much livelier part of the night.

Its launch campaign, Not A Nightcap, replaces quiet after-dinner drinks with a care home rave led by some of social media’s best-known grandparents.

Created by Wieden+Kennedy London, the campaign presents the new drink as a reason to meet friends and start an evening rather than end one.

The evening round becomes an unexpected party

The 30-second film follows Beau The Beard as a care worker completing his evening rounds. Carrying a tray with the residents’ usual Irish cream, he expects to find everyone preparing for bed.

Instead, the care home lounge has become a homemade nightclub. Residents have opened a bottle of Kahlúa Coffee Cream, the music is playing and Grandad Frank is dancing in the middle of the party.

The scene becomes even more chaotic when Grimegran arrives on her mobility scooter and angrily demands to know why she was not invited.

By placing older characters inside a rave, the film overturns two familiar assumptions at once. Cream liqueur does not have to be sleepy, and grandparents do not have to sit quietly on the edge of the party.

Social media grandparents give the joke credibility

The campaign stars established online personalities rather than anonymous actors. Grimegran, also known as Margie, appears alongside her grandson Beau The Beard and Irish TikTok creator Grandad Frank.

Each has built an audience by challenging predictable ideas about age. Their presence therefore makes the campaign feel connected to existing internet culture rather than simply using older people as a visual joke.

The contrast between the care home setting and nightclub behaviour delivers the comedy, but the characters remain in control of the party. They are not observing younger people having fun. They are the ones creating the energy.

Kahlúa wants cream liqueur to begin the night

Not A Nightcap responds to the category’s strong association with formal occasions, after-dinner drinking and bedtime. Kahlúa positions Coffee Cream as a more spontaneous choice suited to early-evening catch-ups and relaxed social occasions.

The campaign does not attempt to hide what cream liqueur traditionally represents. It exaggerates that reputation through the care home setting before disrupting it with loud music, dancing and unexpected characters.

This allows the product difference to become a behavioural idea. Kahlúa Coffee Cream is presented as something that keeps the evening moving rather than signalling that it is almost over.

A Bring Your Own Grandparent night extends the film

Kahlúa is taking the campaign beyond the screen with a one-night event called BYOG, or Bring Your Own Grandparent.

Taking place at Number 90 in Hackney Wick on 8 October 2026, the club night will be headlined by DJ Rossi. Guests are encouraged to arrive with a grandparent, including someone else’s, with complimentary drinks available for participating pairs.

The venue will also include places where older guests can relax after spending time on the dance floor.

The event turns the film’s fictional care home rave into a real social occasion. It also gives the campaign a simple invitation people can share, helping Kahlúa connect its product launch with an experience rather than only an advertisement.

By recruiting grandparents to wake up a supposedly sleepy drinks category, Kahlúa gives Coffee Cream a clear role. It is not the drink served when the party is finished. It is the reason the party begins.

Credits

Not A Nightcap (2026), Kahlúa Coffee Cream, United Kingdom. Creative agency Wieden+Kennedy London. Directed by Ciesay and produced by WracK. Group Creative Directors Freddy Taylor and Phillippa Beaumont. PR partner Pangolin. Featuring Grimegran, Beau The Beard and Grandad Frank. Kahlúa Vice President of Marketing Craig Van Niekerk. The campaign launched in September 2026, with the BYOG club night scheduled for 8 October at Number 90 in Hackney Wick.