Santa Claus
and Coca-Cola
5 Things You Never Knew About Santa Claus and Coca-Cola
Conversations Staff
The Santa Claus we all know and love — that big, jolly
man in the red suit with a white beard — didn’t always look that way.
In
fact, many people are surprised to learn that prior to 1931, Santa was depicted
as everything from a tall gaunt man to a spooky-looking elf.
He
has donned a bishop's robe and a Norse huntsman's animal skin.
In
fact, when Civil War cartoonist Thomas Nast drew Santa Claus for Harper's Weekly in 1862, Santa was a small elflike
figure who supported the Union.
Nast
continued to draw Santa for 30 years, changing the color of his coat from tan
to the red he’s known for today.
Here, a few
other things you may not have realized about the cheerful guy in the red suit.
1. Santa Has Been Featured in
Coke Ads Since the 1920s
The Coca-Cola Company began its Christmas advertising in the 1920s with
shopping-related ads in magazines like The
Saturday Evening Post. The first Santa ads used a strict-looking
Claus, in the vein of Thomas Nast.
In 1930, artist Fred Mizen painted a department-store Santa
in a crowd drinking a bottle of Coke. The ad featured the world's largest soda
fountain, which was located in the department store Famous Barr Co. in St.
Louis, Mo.
Mizen's painting was used in print ads that Christmas season,
appearing in The
Saturday Evening Post in
December 1930.
2. Coca-Cola Helped Shape the Image of Santa
In 1931 the company began placing Coca-Cola ads in popular magazines. Archie Lee, the D'Arcy Advertising Agency
executive working with The Coca-Cola Company, wanted the campaign to show a wholesome Santa who was both
realistic and symbolic.
So Coca-Cola commissioned Michigan-born illustrator Haddon Sundblom to develop
advertising images using Santa Claus — showing Santa himself, not a man dressed
as Santa.
For inspiration, Sundblom turned to Clement Clark Moore's
1822 poem "A Visit From St. Nicolas" (commonly called "'Twas the
Night Before Christmas").
Moore's description of St. Nick led to an image of a warm,
friendly, pleasantly plump and human Santa. (And even though it's often said
that Santa wears a red coat because red is the color of Coca-Cola, Santa appeared in a red
coat before Sundblom painted him.)
Sundblom’s Santa debuted in 1931 in Coke ads in The Saturday Evening Post and appeared regularly in that
magazine, as well as in Ladies
Home Journal, National
Geographic, The New
Yorker and others.
From 1931 to 1964, Coca-Cola advertising showed Santa delivering toys (and playing with them!),
pausing to read a letter and enjoy a Coke, visiting with the children who
stayed up to greet him, and raiding the refrigerators at a number of homes.
The original oil paintings Sundblom created were adapted for Coca-Cola advertising in magazines and on store displays, billboards, posters,
calendars and plush dolls. Many of those items today are popular collectibles.
Sundblom created his final version of Santa Claus in 1964,
but for several decades to follow, Coca-Cola advertising featured images of Santa based on Sundblom’s original works.
These paintings are some of the most prized pieces in the art
collection in the company’s archives department.
These have been on exhibit around the world, in famous
locales including the Louvre in
Paris, the Royal Ontario Museum in
Toronto, the Musem of Science and Industry in
Chicago, the Isetan Department Store in Tokyo, and the NK Department Store in Stockholm. Many
of the original paintings can be seen on display at World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta, Ga.
3. The "New Santa" Was
Based on a Salesman
In the beginning, Sundblom painted the image of Santa using a
live model — his friend Lou Prentiss, a retired salesman.
When Prentiss passed away, Sundblom used himself as a model,
painting while looking into a mirror. Finally, he began relying on photographs
to create the image of St. Nick.
People loved the Coca-Cola Santa images and paid such close attention to them that when anything
changed, they sent letters to The Coca-Cola Company.
One year, Santa's large belt was backwards (perhaps because
Sundblom was painting via a mirror). Another year, Santa Claus appeared without
a wedding ring, causing fans to write asking what happened to Mrs. Claus.
The children who appear with Santa in Sundblom’s paintings
were based on Sundblom's neighbors — two little girls. So he changed one to a
boy in his paintings.
The dog in Sundblom’s 1964 Santa Claus painting was actually
a gray poodle belonging to the neighborhood florist. But Sundblom wanted the
dog to stand out in the holiday scene, so he painted the animal with black fur.
4. Santa Claus Got a New Friend in 1942
In 1942, Coca-Cola introduced "Sprite Boy," a character who appeared with Santa
Claus in Coca-Cola advertising throughout the 1940s and 1950s.
Sprite Boy, who was also created by Sundblom, got his name
due to the fact that he was a sprite, or an elf. (It wasn’t until the 1960s
that Coca-Cola introduced the popular beverage Sprite.)
5. Santa Became Animated in 2001
In 2001, the artwork from Sundblom's 1963 painting was the
basis for an animated TV commercial starring the Coca-Cola Santa. The ad was created by Academy Award-winning animator Alexandre
Petrov.
Do
you have a fond memory of the Coca-Cola Santa?
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