• by Danielle Oster , December 4, 2024

Can you can a holiday tradition? Pepsi hopes so.

The brand’s new limited-edition flavor is inspired by the time-honored yuletide practice of baking gingerbread houses, with the brand rolling out Pepsi Zero Sugar Gingerbread Mini Cans ahead of the holidays. In a press release, Pepsi head of marketing Jenny Danzi characterized the new flavor as a “unique twist on a classic cola, with its perfect blend of warm holiday sugars and the zest of ginger,” offering a “taste of the holidays.”

Fans of the brand on TikTok can get their hands on the item through a promotional offer on Pepsi’s TikTok shop: a complimentary can of Pepsi Zero Sugar Gingerbread Mini with the purchase of two 10-packs of (7.5 ounce) Pepsi Mini Cans in Original or Wild Cherry flavors, while supplies last.

The brand will also be offering a taste of the new flavor through a promotional sweepstakes on its Pepsi Drops platform running through Dec. r 11.

Pepsi got an assist from NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal. Shaq stars in “The Mini Holiday Baking Show,” stylized after reality baking competition shows. Shaq sets out to prove that he’s the “G.B.O.A.T (Greatest Baker of All Time,” but, predictably, not everything goes according to plan. “The Mini Holiday Baking Show” is currently on Pepsi’s YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram channels, and the ad will be supported by paid media.

It’s not the first time the 7’1” O’Neal has paired up with Pepsi Mini. The new campaign arrives a little over a year after he starred in an ad for Pepsi Mini cans paying homage to his 1994 Pepsi ad, “It’s Not Easy Being Big,” followed by a stunt this past February transforming his Reebok Pump Shaq Attaqs to allow them to hold the 7.5-ounce cans.