By Heather Taylor, Editor-in-Chief, PopIcon
What do yetis, sunglasses, cinnamon rolls, and the song “Satisfaction” by Benny Benassi all have in common? Each has a starring role, or an extremely prominent cameo, in PopIcon’s ranking of 2024’s five best Christmas ads.
While our initial thought was to make a best/worst Christmas ads list starring brand mascots, it didn’t feel true to the spirit of the holidays or the nature of advertising’s most iconic characters. Instead, we decided to celebrate our favorite ads of the season.
Among these spots you’ll find new faces, familiar icons, and a few appearances from Kris Kringle himself, Santa Claus.
“Meet OLI and POP” | Olipop
We were immediately smitten with Oli and Pop, the two yetis starring in probiotic soft drink Olipop’s first holiday campaign. But even though the audience loves them, it looks like the locals living in their village are a little scared of the pair. At first, anyway.
The Claymation spot from Callen features Oli and Pop doing their best to spread holiday cheer, but the way they do it keeps getting misunderstood. Frustrated, the pair toss a big bag to the ground and stomp off to their cave. A villager discovers the bags is full of Olipop sodas and rallies everyone together. The yetis get a big surprise at their home when the villagers show up with cans of Olipop in hand, each dressed up like a yeti.
Now that we’ve seen this commercial and enjoyed the warm fuzzies that came from it, we’re hoping for seasonal spinoffs. Anyone up for a summer BBQ potluck at Oli and Pop’s? They’ve got plenty of Olipop stocked in the coolers to keep everyone cool!
“Help Santa: Cinnamon Rolls” | Pillsbury
Pillsbury’s own Pillsbury Doughboy has been having an excellent 2024. The General Mills mascot received a blue neckerchief, the first time any of his accessories have ever changed color, and has been actively speaking and giggling in new commercials airing year-round.
Poppin’ Fresh is starring in two Christmas commercials this year, including a “Memories” spot that playfully reprises the iconic “Santa Belly Boops.” But we don’t want anyone to miss out on watching the “Help Santa: Cinnamon Rolls” commercial either.
The ad opens during a family’s Christmas Day breakfast. We hear the Doughboy huffing and puffing as he carries a cinnamon roll on his back across the coffee table. As the daughter helps place the cinnamon roll onto a plate, dad asks what’s going on out of curiosity.
“We thought he might come back…” the daughter shyly starts.
“For cinnamon rolls!” the Doughboy exclaims.
“He” is Santa, of course, who does show up as the commercial wraps. How cute is Pillsbury’s new idea that Santa not only gets cookies after delivering gifts, but might even make a return visit for breakfast if you leave out freshly baked cinnamon rolls?
“Holidays: Yeti” | Michaels Stores
We don’t know too much about the Yeti that stars in the new holiday campaign from Michaels Stores, but he wants to set the record straight about something. He’s so much more than “abominable” or a yeti. At his core, the Yeti is a crafter.
Where can you watch these hard-to-find spots? We tracked them down on the Michaels TikTok. See the Yeti’s holiday crafting skills in action and catch a behind-the-scenes look of the fully suited character on set. He even got some free art supplies!
“Hoppy Holidays” | Energizer
Move over, elves! Energizer’s own Energizer Bunny is hard at work in the North Pole for the brand’s 2024 holiday campaign. He’s performing a very important, very specific toy assembly line task: add batteries into all battery-operated toys.
EB is a natural and earns a fist bump from Santa for all his hard work. He even gets the chance to tag along with Santa in his sleigh, but not before giving him a pair of sunglasses. This duo is fully embodying the phrase “slay the house down, boots” on Christmas Eve.
“The Gift of McDonald’s” | McDonald’s UK
We just have one question after watching the McDonald’s UK “The Gift of McDonald’s” holiday ad. Where can we find those light-up outdoor decorations shaped like Grimace, the Hamburglar, and Birdie the Early Bird at?!
In this spot, a couple decides to go on a McDonald’s run for dinner after spotting the ubiquitous yellow arches nearby. Getting to their McDonald’s means heading through a neighborhood where the traditional candy cane lane has received a club remix. The lights are popping, the music is thumping to Benny Benassi’s “Satisfaction,” and McDonaldland’s biggest icons are encouraging them to keep going until they hit the drive thru.
Perhaps most impressive of all, a nearby skyscraper lights up in coordinated lights to match the Quarter Pounder. Almost as impressive as knowing the snack wraps will be back in 2025, but we digress!
About the Author
Heather Taylor is the senior writer and editor-in-chief of PopIcon, Advertising Week’s blog about brand mascots. Got a pitch on brand mascots or want to wax nostalgic about characters? Drop her a line at howveryheather@gmail.com.
