It is safe to say that 2018 has seen the largest amount of branded swag from brands like Taco Bell and Pillsbury, just to name a few. The ironic holiday fashion piece has grown in popularity and has generated strong demand with consumers interested in buying limited edition merchandise or getting a chance to get free swag through giveaways on social media.

Branded Holiday Sweaters Prove To Be Popular

Tipsy Elves, known for making ugly sweaters, partnered up with Captain Morgan to create a line of ugly Christmas sweaters, onesies and leggings. Additionally, Tipsy Elves is the official sponsor of National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day on December 2, adding more reasons to purchase a sweater. Currently, three of the four sweaters are sold out.

Pillsbury’s holiday sweaters also saw high demand when they were released. The doughboy ugly Christmas sweaters went on sale on December 5 and quickly sold out, but the company gave fans a second chance to get the sweaters through a giveaway. The company encourages fans to wear the doughboy ugly sweater and share their photos on social media using the hashtag #Pillsbury.

Famed burger chain Whataburger also had highly popular holiday sweaters. The first batch of the bright orange sweaters—going for $42.99­–was gone immediately when they launched in November.

Miller Lite made its own ugly sweater and Dodge didn’t miss out on making its version of the holiday trend. 

IHOP also debuted its online shop PancakeWear dedicated to the breakfast item. Their collection includes leisurewear clothes and of course two Christmas sweaters. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of one piece and lounge pant will benefit children’s health and wellness charities.

Most recently, Windows announced its “softwear.” Their throwback sweater has the old Windows 95 logo which the company is giving away to a few lucky winners via Twitter.

Iconic music venue First Avenue released two holiday sweaters. The Minneapolis-based nightclub partnered with Ragstock. The neighboring clothing brand had an increase of “ugly sweater” related searches by 200 percent between 2012 and 2015.

“We’ve definitely noticed an uptick in bands releasing their own knits,” said Zach Nagle, eCommerce director at Ragstock. “With First Avenue being such a legendary venue, we thought they should have their own sweaters, too.”

Influencers Tap Into The Trend

Food and fashion marketers aren’t the only ones banking on the ugly sweater. YouTuber Felix ‘PewDiePie” Kjelberg teamed up with UglyChristmasSweater.com to create a line of holiday products. The black and red sweater features the Swedish star dressed as Santa. The PewDiePie line includes socks, jumpsuits and beanies.

The e-commerce site also collaborated with Fortnite star Tyler ‘Ninja’ Blevins. There are three ugly Christmas sweaters with his logo. There is even a sales incentive; customers can use the code ‘Ninja’ to buy one and get one half off.