It doesn’t take a whole lot of unwrapping to find the inspiration for Olipop’s new holiday heartwarmer. The animated tale of two lovable but misunderstood yetis has a look meant to elicit Claymation Christmas classics like Rankin/Bass’ “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” And if it calls to mind the kind of tender sentiment so consistently demonstrated by Coca-Cola Co. in its holiday advertising, all the better.

“I’m not going to disguise the fact that we’re leaning into what are highly understood representations of the holidays and using those as shortcuts for consumers,” Matt Bruhn, chief marketing officer of Olipop, said in an interview. “So I would love to be making advertising that is as revered as some of the stuff the big soda companies make.”

The fast-growing functional soda brand’s new campaign, developed in partnership with creative agency Callen, is called “A New Kind of Holiday Cheer.” It tells the story of two yetis, Oli and Pop, who yearn to be a part of their town’s holiday cheer but inadvertently frighten the townspeople, before a round of emotional gift-giving provides, to all, a good night.

Pomplamoose’s “Always in the Season” accompanies the 15- and 30-second ads, which were directed by Screen Novelties and produced by Passion Pictures. The ads debut today and will accompany holiday programming on TV and streaming networks, Bruhn said. There will also be social content and, potentially, live appearances by the yetis, he added.

The holiday campaign marks the first collaboration between Olipop and Callen, whose founder, Craig Allen, previously worked at Wieden+Kennedy, including on the Coke account. Olipop had already developed a yeti character meant for limited-edition holiday packages of its classic cola and ginger ale flavors; Callen’s job was bringing that character to life. Changing packages made more sense than adding a holiday flavor, said Bruhn—Olipop already has 18 varieties. “We’re trying to err on the side of less complexity for retailers,” he said.

More from Ad Age: The best holiday ads of 2024 (so far)

Bruhn acknowledges Olipop’s holiday campaign is purposefully in the tradition of those like Coca-Cola, although the use of the yeti characters “turns it on its head.”

That’s because Oli and Pop are metaphors for the high-fiber, low-sugar, gut-friendly soda brand they’re named for: different, and maybe scary at first, but ultimately well-meaning and fun.

“Yetis are mythical folklore characters who do wonderful things. Olipop’s a mythical brand that does magical things,” Bruhn said.

One of those magic tricks is cutting into the dominance of long-established soda brands. Bruhn, a former Diageo colleague of Olipop Co-Founder David Lester who joined the brand in September, was attracted by what he called a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to disrupt Big Soda.”

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Olipop is in 17% of U.S. households today but is eyeing more than 80%, Bruhn said, and its brand awareness is about 40% vs. established competitors at or near 100%.

“We’re a six-year-old brand growing at 100%-plus, and with massive headroom left,” Bruhn said. “We’re not near where we’d like to be, and we aspire to get full market penetration in the next few years.”