Dive Brief:
- Coffee Mate is tapping into summer romance with a social-first campaign featuring TV personality and “Summer House” star Carl Radke, according to information shared with Marketing Dive.
- To promote the limited-edition Situation-Sip Mixed Fruit Flavoured Creamer, the Nestlé brand is releasing a social content series featuring Radke in a “situationship,” slang for an informal romantic relationship, with the creamer. During the campaign, the flavor will take over Coffee Mate’s Instagram feed.
- The campaign comes as dirty sodas, sodas mixed with creamers and syrups, continue to be popular with consumers. As a brand, Coffee Mate has worked to expand both its product line and use cases as it seeks to keep up with changing consumer habits.
Dive Insight:
The limited-edition creamer is part of a larger innovation push by Coffee Mate to take advantage of larger coffee market growth, a priority detailed by Nestlé CEO Philipp Navratil in a call with investors. The campaign, created by Leo New York, encourages consumers to interact with the brand on social media while showcasing how Coffee Mate can be used outside of coffee for other beverages like cocktails and dirty sodas.
A minute-long video shows Radke, known for his role on Bravo’s reality TV show “Summer House,” as he experiences the highs and lows of a situationship with the creamer, including fights, ghosting and fun times on dates and vacations. The video will drop on Radke’s Instagram channel. To encourage further social media interaction, consumers can direct message Coffee Mate on Instagram to simulate a situationship. A select few who “ride the relationship out” will receive a special delivery.
The creamer will be released for free in drops on July 20 and 27 on a first-come, first-served basis. It will only be available via a dedicated landing page.
Dr Pepper launched a similar effort in May with a microdrama for the limited-time return of its Creamy Coconut flavor. The content depicted the ill-fated love story of a woman and a can of Dr Pepper Creamy Coconut, an offering that is also meant to tap into the popularity of dirty sodas.
Coffee Mate has invested in the dirty soda space before, having creamers dedicated to the trend in 2024. The brand has made other efforts to become more culturally relevant in recent years, including through a Harry Potter collaboration. In 2025, the brand made its Super Bowl debut to introduce a Cold Foam product.
