Poppi casts Rob Rausch as poppi Claus in a Christmas social film with a Cranberry Fizz nice list

Key Takeaways

• Poppi has cast Love Island USA star Rob Rausch as poppi Claus in a festive social film created by Day One Agency.

• The film follows Rausch through a day at the North Pole with reindeer, a nice and naughty list and plenty of time in a Santa suit.

• It promotes the return of poppi's seasonal Cranberry Fizz flavour, on sale for a limited time at retailers including Amazon, Costco, Walmart and Kroger.

• From 9 November, fans can follow the link in poppi's Instagram bio to see if they made the nice list and take a selfie with poppi Claus.

Poppi has brought back its Cranberry Fizz flavour for Christmas with a social film starring Rob Rausch as poppi Claus. The film from Day One Agency shows Rausch, a long-time fan and brand partner, swapping his overalls for a Santa suit and spending a day at the North Pole with reindeer and a list of who's been nice and naughty.

Poppi's poppi Claus film with Rob Rausch launches a nice list on Instagram from 9th November

The film plays out as a day in the life of Santa, with Rausch getting ready for the holidays alongside reindeer, a nice (and naughty) list and plenty of time in the Santa suit. From Monday 9th November, fans can follow the link in poppi's Instagram bio to find out whether they've made the nice list, take a selfie with poppi Claus and share it with friends.

Rausch said, "I never thought I'd trade my overalls for a Santa suit, but when poppi and I started talking about the idea, I thought, why not? It sounded like a lot of fun, and I figured Santa could probably use a little Cranberry Fizz in his life. We'll see if I make the nice list after this."

Cranberry Fizz is poppi's returning seasonal flavour, and it's on sale nationwide in the US for a limited time at retailers including Amazon, Costco, Walmart and Kroger. The brand is pitching it as a drink to serve chilled, mix into a festive cocktail or mocktail, or take along as a host gift.

Rob Rausch starred in poppi's Super Bowl ad Soda Thoughts in February 2025

Rausch is best known as a star of Love Island USA, and his relationship with poppi goes back well before Christmas. In February 2025, he appeared alongside Alix Earle and Jake Shane in Soda Thoughts, poppi's 60 second Super Bowl LIX commercial, which was created by VIRTUE Worldwide and directed by Dave Meyers. It was the brand's second Super Bowl appearance, and co-founder Allison Ellsworth said at the time, "There is no bigger soda moment than the Super Bowl, and we're thrilled to have been a part of it."

A few months later, PepsiCo completed its acquisition of poppi on 19th May 2025 for $1.95 billion, including $300 million of expected cash tax benefits. Poppi, which is based in Austin, was founded by Stephen and Allison Ellsworth.

Love Island has stayed central to poppi's marketing. This year, poppi became the official soft drink partner of Love Island UK for its 13th series, which started on ITV2 and ITVX on Monday 1st June, marking the brand's first market outside the US.

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