Hails & Fails – September 18th 2026
This week’s Hails & Fails brings together granfluencers on a night out, Britain’s tiniest bakery and a Wicked new 50p. Kahlúa is waking up the traditional nightcap, Galaxy is sweetening the journey home, and The Royal Mint is giving a West End favourite the royal treatment. Meanwhile, Novig has put Sydney Sweeney at the centre of its latest sports campaign, but has its provocative play scored attention for all the wrong reasons?
HAILS
Kahlúa wakes up the nightcap
Kahlúa is shaking up the traditional cream liqueur with the launch of Kahlúa Coffee Cream and its ‘Not a Nightcap’ campaign. Kahlúa enlisted viral ‘granfluencers’ for a tongue-in-cheek campaign and is even hosting a ‘Bring Your Own Grandparent’ club night. It’s a fun way of challenging some dusty perceptions around the category, while giving a new product launch a much bigger cultural hook.
Galaxy proves good things come in small packages
Galaxy has opened what it calls the UK’s tiniest bakery, teaming up with Great British Bake Off star Kim-Joy to give commuters a sweet treat on their journey home. It’s a simple but eye-catching way of bringing the bakery-inspired products to life, while tapping into a relatable moment when people are looking to switch off from the working day.
The Royal Mint makes Wicked history
The Royal Mint is celebrating 20 years of Wicked in London’s West End with a new collectable 50p inspired by the musical. With more than 7,500 London performances and nearly 14 million people having seen the show in the capital, it’s a smart way of turning a major cultural anniversary into something fans can physically collect. Bringing together theatre nostalgia and the enduring appeal of commemorative coins, it gives Wicked’s milestone a life well beyond the stage.
FAIL
Novig’s sports ad scores an own goal
Sports prediction platform Novig has faced global backlash over its latest campaign starring Sydney Sweeney, which sees the actor pose mostly nude alongside sporting equipment while promoting the platform’s focus on ‘just sports’. The provocative approach certainly got people talking, but perhaps not in the way the brand intended, with Olympic champions and female athletes criticising the campaign for sexualising women in sport. At a time when women’s sport is attracting growing attention for the athletes and their achievements, reducing sport back down to sex appeal feels like a dated way to chase engagement.
